If your company has been the target of a wire fraud scam in the past year, you aren’t alone.
Cybercrime in real estate reached new heights last year, according to the 2025 editionpdf of the FBI’s annual IC3 report. There were more than 12,000 real estate–related complaints, with real estate losses totaling $275 million (up from about $174 million in 2024 and $145 million in 2023).
Brokers attending the National Association of REALTORS®’ latest Broker Power Hour got some practical tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of real estate wire fraud attempts, in which bad actors attempt to divert funds from a real estate transaction into their own accounts.
No one is immune, says Tyler Adams, co-founder and CEO of CertifID, who presented at the session. And AI has changed the game. “It’s given fraudsters the ability to execute attacks on a scale never seen before,” he says. He emphasized that client education early in the transaction on the potential for fraud is key to preventing it.
Here’s what NAR member brokers attending the no-cost session learned about how to strengthen transaction security, identify fraud risks and protect your brokerage and clients.
How Real Estate Wire Fraud Works
Most people today are familiar with the basics of a wire fraud scam. Fraudsters send phishing emails to real estate professionals, title and escrow companies, lawyers, lenders and consumers—anyone involved in a transaction. Through these lures, the criminals steal credentials or gain access to email via malware their targets unwittingly install. Would-be thieves learn about deals and upcoming transactions, including the contact information of involved parties.
By monitoring conversations through malware or seeing property status change to “pending” on real estate websites, they know when money is about to move. That’s when they impersonate parties involved in the transaction, sending fraudulent instructions to redirect funds. If successful, they make off with earnest money, closing funds, commissions, down payments or seller or loan proceeds.
Impersonation in a Nutshell
Fraudsters have been known to forge IDs and property deeds and spoof phone numbers and email addresses. Now they also clone voices, thanks to generative AI tools. They upload short audio clips from the internet to an AI voice generator and supply dialogue using the text-to-speech feature. With VoIP services, they can route calls straight to voicemail (fraud is more obvious in live conversations).
Seller Impersonation Scams
Sometimes, fraudsters impersonate "sellers," often targeting lien-free vacant properties. They might hire a real estate agent to represent them or list properties for sale or rent at below-market prices. Scammers collect sale proceeds from unwitting buyers or deposits from buyers or renters. To spot this type of fraud, agents should follow the “two-flag rule,” Adams says. “If you see one of the following, slow down. If you see two or more, pause and verify identity.”
- Sellers are evasive and prefer remote interactions.
- Sellers request a cash closing.
- Sellers have a sense of urgency. “The longer they’re in the deal, the more likely they are to get caught, so they try to push everybody to get it done fast,” says Adams.
Recovering Funds
Once money leaves an account, act as promptly as possible, Adams urges. The FBI advises first calling your bank. Ask them to recall funds and alert the receiving institution. Adams says it’s more efficient to start with the receiving bank. Either way, “move incredibly quickly,” he says. “This is not a scenario where you can wait.” Also file a complaint with the FBI at ic3.gov.
Your Action Plan
Do the following to help guard against fraud:
- Instruct your IT or cybersecurity provider to assess your brokerage’s email security on a regular basis.
- Vet your closing partner’s security protocols by asking them these questions:
- How are they verifying seller identities and bank account ownership?
- How do they authenticate changes to wire instructions?
- How do they protect employee email?
- What’s their procedure when they discover a fraudulent wire?
- Do they have cyber insurance or offer financial protection? Who and what does it cover? What is their role in fund recovery?
- Can they provide a wire-fraud policy in writing?
- Create a transaction compliance checklist for your team, including the following:
- During their first meeting, agents should educate clients about fraud risk. They should share red flags and safety tips, detail how communications and money transfers will occur, and include a pre-established contact method.
- Always verify, then trust, especially when it comes to wire instruction changes.
- Verify payee identity and account information, sellers and notaries. Ask for in-person meetings and request owner-specific documentation.
- Email, text, voicemail or caller ID no longer suffice for verification. Also use the pre-established contact method (outside of the email thread), preferably calling the phone number on file.
- After sending funds, call the bank at the phone number on file to confirm receipt.
- Train your team about email security and fraud, reviewing the transaction compliance checklist. Adams offered to present additional webinars to brokerages and REALTOR® associations on real estate wire fraud (email him at tyler@certifid.com). Share CertifID’s State of Wire Fraud report.
Real estate wire fraud is a cat-and-mouse game. Brokers have a responsibility to keep up on scammers’ schemes and share information with their teams and clients.
