Information From National Associate of Realtors (NAR)
Cybercrime continues to be a top concern across industries,
including real estate. In 2021, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint
Center (IC3) reported a year over year increase in both the number
of claims and total victim losses. According to the FBI’s 2021
Internet Crime Report, it received nearly 850,000 complaints with an
estimated total loss of $6.9 billion dollars in 2021 alone.
Among
the top scams facing consumers and business are:
i)
phishing/vishing/smishing/pharming whereby fraudsters use
unsolicited emails, text messages and phone calls from a purportedly
legitimate company to obtain personal, financial and login
credentials;
ii) business email compromise, or wire fraud, carried
out by fraudsters compromising email accounts to effectuate
fraudulent fund transfers; and
iii) ransomware whereby
cybercriminals install malicious software that locks users out of
their systems or encrypts data making it inaccessible unless a
ransom payment is paid to the criminals. Real estate professionals
should be aware of these risks facing not only their businesses, but
also consumers, and be sure to educate staff and clients about
preventative steps they can take to prevent falling victim to
cybercrime.
This is the information that we give to all buyers at this time:
BE AWARE: Online banking fraud is on the rise. If you receive an email containing our wire instructions, please call our office to verify the information prior to sending funds.