Wire fraud
Protect your closing funds with one phone call.
Criminals send emails that look like they come from your escrow officer, your agent or your lender. They ask you to wire money to a new account. Once it is sent, it can be very hard to get back.
Our wire instructions do not change
We will never email or text you new or changed wire instructions. If a message says our account changed, it did not come from us.
Call before you send money
Use a number you already know or found yourself, like (714) 962-0999. Never use a number from an email, a text or a voicemail.
Treat any change as fraud until proven otherwise
A new account, a new bank, a “problem with the account” or a rush order are the classic signs.
Call again after you wire
Ask your escrow officer to confirm the money arrived. The same day is best.
Practice
Find the six warning signs in this email.
Hello,
Our trust account is being audited, so please use our new wire instructions below instead of the ones you received earlier.
Account name: Coastline Holdings Group LLC
Bank: First Harbor Bank, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Account: 0045 8812 3390
Our phones are down today, so reply to this email only and I will confirm receipt.
Thank you,
Escrow Department
0of 6 warning signs found
Tap any part of the email that looks wrong. Six parts are warning signs. Some parts are fine.
Already sent money?
Act in the first hour. Here is the order.
Call your bank right away. Ask for the wire fraud team and ask them to recall the wire and contact the receiving bank.
Call us at (714) 962-0999. We will alert everyone on the file and help you with the next steps.
Report it to the FBI at ic3.gov. Include the bank details and a copy of the email.
Tell your agent and your lender, and change the passwords on your email accounts.
Sellers: we will never ask you by email to change where your proceeds go.
If you get a message asking to send your sale proceeds to a different account, call your escrow officer before you reply. Criminals also pose as owners of vacant land and paid-off homes to sell property they do not own. If something about your own property seems off, call us.