09/17/2026
🚨 HOME BUYERS: Before you wire ONE DOLLAR for your home purchase, please read this.
A couple buying a $460,000 home recently lost $66,026.92 in a sophisticated real-estate wire fraud scam.
And this wasn’t just some obvious spam email.
The scammers reportedly knew details about their actual transaction. The buyers received an email requesting the money shortly before closing, followed by a phone call from someone who sounded like their real loan officer. The couple believes AI voice-cloning technology was used.
The fake phone number differed from the real loan officer’s number by only two digits, and the fraudulent email address contained only a subtle change. The buyers wired the money—and by the time they realized what happened, the funds were gone.
This is why buyers need to understand something very important:
Hearing a familiar voice is no longer enough to verify someone’s identity.
Scammers can spoof phone numbers, imitate email addresses and increasingly use AI to impersonate people involved in legitimate real-estate transactions. NAR reported this month that AI-driven impersonation is making real-estate wire fraud increasingly sophisticated.
🔑 Before sending money during a real-estate transaction:
• Never wire money based solely on an email, text, voicemail or incoming phone call.
• Independently call your title company or lender using a phone number you already know and trust—not the number contained in the message you received.
• Read the entire email address, not just the sender’s displayed name.
• Treat unexpected or last-minute changes to wiring instructions as a major red flag.
• Confirm the recipient and account information before sending the wire.
• After sending funds, immediately contact the title company through a trusted number and confirm that the money was received.
If you believe you’ve sent money to a fraudulent account, act immediately. Contact your bank and request a wire recall, then report the fraud to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. The first 24–48 hours can be especially important.
Buying a home should be exciting—but protecting your money is just as important as finding the right house.
Chanson Thompson REALTOR® | Ownit Global Property Group ownit-global.com
📖 Read the story: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/heard-sounded-mortgage-professionals-voice-161326843.html
