Here’s the thing that scammers don’t want you to know…they know we’re busy! The best thing you can do to help stay safe and secure online is to keep your eyes open. Make sure you are checking who your emails are coming from, where they are coming from and if you don’t recognize them then check their domain! Here are some common things to look out for – the best thing we can do is to be aware. We are here to help!

These are the Two Most Common Schemes:

1. Business Email Compromise (BEC)
2. Email Accounts Compromise (EAC)

The main thing that these two schemes have in common…is that they want to get involved in your transactions.

Business Email Compromise (BEC)

• Scammers may register their domains to be similar to a company you’ve been working with
  • i.e. charlie@smartwater.com vs. charlie@smart.water.com
  • If you are unsure…all you need to do is type “@smartwater.com” into your internet browser and if the website pops up, then you know it’s legitimate!

Email Accounts Compromise (EAC)

• This is how wire transfers can get hacked – make sure you are double checking who the email originates from and who is continuing the email messages.

Here are some examples of what to look for:

Strange Email Domains:

• Notice the email address
• Notice the grammar
• Notice how they mention wire transfer in an email
• Notice the “Sent from my iPhone”

Wire Fraud

Due to the amount of volume happening in the reverse industry, it’s important to watch our for those who are trying to scheme their way into a reverse transaction. Real estate transactions have been targeted; here are some things to watch out for:

• Altered/fictitious payoff statements to title/settlement agents impersonating as a mortgage broker, lender, borrower or borrower’s representative
• Many reasons may come up with a new payoff request
  • Will state there’s an error in the original payoff statement
• Make sure this is legitimate 
  • Most of the time the “updated” payoff is changing the banking information and payment options

In order to prevent these issues from happening, make sure you are verbally authenticating the information by using numbers or code words that have been verified and trusted.

Spread the word, ARS has a new webinar course designed specifically for notaries! We will review the do’s and the don’ts, the good and the bad when it comes to reverse mortgage closings.

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

10:00am PST/1:00pm EST

An invite will go out to our pool of notaries but feel free to pass along to your network of notaries as well. The more the merrier!

Click here to register.

Live Demo: Property Profiles   

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

10:00am PST/1:00pm EST

This class will walk you through how to pull property profiles and sales comparables.

Click here to register.

PHISHING

Phishing emails are more frequent and creative than ever, so it’s important that we stay diligent when reviewing and monitoring our inboxes. Our team recently completed a webinar dedicated to educating participants about privacy and security. Below are some tips we found most helpful when identifying a phishing email.

• Not personalized. For example: The introduction will read “Dear Customer”
• Poor grammar, overuse of capitalization and spelling errors.
• From a nondescript or incorrect email address.
• Reply-To address is different than sender’s address.
• Asks for account information.
• Contains threats and commands,
• No direct contact information given.
• Before clicking a link, hover over it to confirm that you are being directed to the site displayed.

WIRE FRAUD

In this day and age wire fraud is one area that places a company at higher risk. The people attempting to intercept funds are becoming more bold in their efforts and have an understanding of our industry.

We know our teams are on the front lines to act as the eyes, ears and voice that has proven time and time again to be worthwhile.

Our client presented us with an updated payoff from the existing lender. They had received an email from the borrower that the wiring instructions had been updated. Nicole Snyder, Lead Settlement Officer, recognized that this was out of the ordinary. She promptly called the client to confirm wire instructions and then found that the new payoff had in fact been altered to change the account number along with a few minor additions/deletions of wording of the wire portion. Thanks to her diligence, Nicole prevented a potential loss of $153,000.

Our team is always available to verify wiring instructions to ensure all available avenues are confirmed before proceeding.