Don’t Get Caught in This Wire Fraud Scheme

Salt Lake City Area Real Estate Podcast with Jodie Osofsky

A wire fraud scam has taken our market by storm. We don’t want you to lose any money, so we’ve got some tips to share with you to keep yourself protected.

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There have been cases of wire fraud lately in our industry, and we wanted to address this scary topic with you today.

There have been issues with scammers hacking emails and changing wiring instructions. The FDC and the NAR have put out an official warning against this wire scam. In fact, a good friend of mine who actually works in our office had it happen in her own personal transaction. It was a very simple email from a very sophisticated hacker. Her down payment, over $40,000, ended up being wired away overseas.
The other shocking thing I learned through this is that the FDIC does not insure wire transfers—they only insure deposits. How do we handle this, knowing that the federal government requires us to send any amount over $10,000 in wire form?

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The FDIC does not insure wire transfers.

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We are cautious, we take an old-school approach, and we double and triple check information we are given. We also don’t email wiring instructions under any circumstance. For those of you in a real estate transaction, be aware that this is something that might delay your transaction a bit, but ensuring your money is safe and sound in the right hands is more important than anything else. If someone sends you wiring instructions without any verification, be very wary and cautious.
If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.