It seems like everyday scammers discover a new way to defraud consumers ? and now homebuyers are their targets. Unfortunately, thousands of homebuyers fall victim to wire fraud schemes every year. Although the escrow process was created to help safeguard your funds during a home purchase, scammers have figured out a way to hijack this process and steal tens of thousands of dollars from unwitting homebuyers. Here?s what you need to know to make sure you don?t become one of their next victims.
El fraude inmobiliario va en aumento
Según el FBI, el fraude inmobiliario se está disparando. En su Informe sobre delitos en Internet de 2018, Americans lost almost $150 million in real estate scams, including wire fraud. Not only that, but the number of scams in the real estate industry has increased by more than 1000 percent since 2015. It?s more important than ever that homebuyers understand how they can be targeted and how to spot a scam before they become a victim.
Cómo funciona el fraude electrónico de bienes raíces
Let?s take a look at what a typical wire fraud scenario would look like. Scammers identify pending home sales using publicly available data. They then determine all the parties involved with the transaction and hack into their email accounts. They closely watch the correspondence between them to determine the best time to act. They will often target a homebuyer a few days before the scheduled closing date by sending an urgent email. This email looks legitimate ? including the email address of the real estate agent and their signature. The email will even address the buyer by name. This message will contain new instructions for delivering the funds for the closing. Instead of bringing a check to the closing, the buyer is instructed to wire the money to their lender immediately to avoid a delay in the closing. Unfortunately, as you can guess, the money is not wired to the lender, it is wired to a fake bank account set up by the scammer. The buyer may not even realize that they were scammed until they talk to their real estate agent a few days later to finalize the closing details.
Cómo evitar ser estafado
Aunque se trata de una estafa de phishing muy sofisticada, hay pasos que puede seguir para evitar convertirse en una víctima. Primero, entender el proceso de cierre. Talk with your real estate agent over the phone or in person about how the closing process works. Avoid sharing these details over email where scammers may see them. Then decide on a code phrase that all trusted parties would use to confirm their identities in the future as well as a phone number where they can be reached. If you receive wiring instructions via email, don?t click on any links or call any phone numbers listed in the email. Instead, call the agreed-upon phone numbers to verify whether or not the instructions are legitimate. And whatever you do, don?t send sensitive financial information via email.
Qué hacer si te estafan
It?s important to act quickly as soon as you realize that you have been scammed. Contact your bank or the wire service and let them know the receiving party is a scammer. Ask for a retiro de alambre. You?re more likely to get your money back if you act fast. You should also contact the FBI at https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx para denunciar la estafa.
Póngase en contacto con Agent Inc. hoy
Comprar o vender una vivienda puede resultar complicado y confuso, por lo que resulta útil trabajar con un equipo de profesionales que cuentan con años de experiencia a sus espaldas. Contacto Agent Inc. hoy a las 949-791-8160 o [email protected]. We?re happy to answer all your questions and we take pride in safely navigating all our clients through the real estate process from start to finish.
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