09/06/2026
Don’t be taken advantage of!
Be vigilant and aware. Here’s what happened, and it can happen to you too!
Someone I’ve been observing the email exchange, by hiding in the email thread.
Either through fishing or through some sort of a malware.
They were privy to the entire conversation, including the closing date, the purchase amount, the file number, even the manner the agent/broker communicated.
Then, just a few days before closing, an email came through with "updated" escrow account instructions.
Same signature, tone and mannerism, with the correct information on the transaction. It was deceptively similar.
Except for a tiny detail. The email domain and address were off slightly (an O Instead 0, or an “i”instead of an “I.”)
The buyers sent hundreds of thousands of dollars. Within hours, the money was moved, and it was gone.
Closing is perhaps the very last time, that you'll ever be asked to move substantial funds.
Before you send any amount,
1- Do not rely just on emailed wire or trust account instructions.
2- Know who your Escrow officer is, Escrow office address, and their phone number, which you have independently verified.
3- Call your broker using a phone number you personally have of him. Not the one included in the email.
4- Do the same thing with the Escrow office.
5- When you call them, ask them to send you independent emails confirming your conversation with them.
6- Confirm the banking information verbally and by an independent email. with your broker before sending funds.
7- Ask if any changes were made, to the Escrow instructions that you received previously. Escrow instructions would’ve had the banking information for the any deposit into the Escrow account.
Treat any last-minute change to payment instructions as a major red flag.
Good luck on your closing day! real estate
