Paying off your loan when selling your home or refinancing can be an exciting time – but it’s also a time you may be vulnerable to attempts to swindle you out of your hard-earned savings.
Scam artists often commit mortgage wire fraud by posing as lending companies and sending fraudulent communications to borrowers or title companies, conning home buyers into transferring large sums of money into fraudulent accounts. Mortgage wire fraud schemes are on the rise, and they’ve become increasingly sophisticated.1
Once fraudsters receive your money – possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars – it can be exceedingly difficult to get it back. Oftentimes, the fraud isn’t detected until the borrower gets a request for payment on a loan that they thought they had closed. Learn how to lessen your chances of being a victim.
Understanding Mortgage Wire Fraud
Mortgage wire fraud often involves scammers intercepting communications between lending companies, borrowers and title companies or other industry professionals. Scammers may monitor communication and wait for their moment – such as when a homeowner wants to pay off their mortgage – to send a fraudulent message via email or over the phone urgently requesting funds.
Important Note: Scammers sometimes intercept official documents from a lender, such as a pay-off quote, and make changes to the bank, routing number or account number to where the borrower is supposed to send funds. Sophisticated scammers can do this in a way that is undetectable, so the document still looks legitimate.
Newrez takes measures to protect our borrowers from fraud, including encrypting outgoing emails and securing all communications and payments sent via our online portal. However, scammers have many methods of deception, and we continue to encourage borrowers to use caution and always double check any request for payment.
Be Aware of These Risks:
- If the email has been forwarded, there’s a higher risk it has been intercepted by a scammer. For example, if a borrower forwards a pay-off quote from their lender to their title agent.
- Scam emails sometimes include fraudulent login links in an attempt to steal your secure login information.
- A fraudulent email might include a phone number that leads to a live phone operator who poses as an employee of your lending company.
Taking Preventative Measures
Lessen your chances of being a victim of fraud by taking these steps:
- Contact your lender/agent directly. Go to your lender’s website directly to find their servicing phone number or log into your online portal. DO NOT use contact information or links within a forwarded email.
- Double check payment information. After reaching out to your lender directly, ask to verify payment information including the bank, routing number and account number where your payment should be sent.
- Avoid forwarding sensitive emails or requests for payment. If you need to send a pay-off quote from your lender to your title company, clearly request that your title company call your lender to double check payment information.
- Be cautious of messages from strange emails or phone numbers. Sometimes scammers will use spoofed email addresses or live phone operators to urgently request payment. Again, call your lender directly to verify.
What To Do If You Suspect Fraud
If you think you’ve been a victim of mortgage wire fraud, move quickly to take these steps:
- Contact Your Bank Immediately: Request a wire recall to try and recover your money.
- Notify Your Mortgage Company: Call your lender and inform them of the potentially fraudulent activity to prevent further unauthorized actions.
- Report to Authorities: File a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, as well as your local law enforcement agency.
Newrez is committed to protecting our customers as they strive for their homeownership and financial goals. If you’re looking for a mortgage with a lender that cares about your financial security, reach out to us today.
References:
1 Homebuyers Are Being Warned About a Real Estate Scam That Will Drain Your Bank Account
