You’ve worked hard to save for your dream home, so don’t let cyber-criminals get in the way! Real estate wire fraud is a high-level scam that targets wire transfer payments during the homebuying process. Victims unknowingly send wire transfers to the accounts of criminals pretending to be professionals involved in the transaction – and it happens more often than you might think. In 2018, data shows that over 11,000 Americans lost nearly $150 million due to wire fraud. Protect yourself (and your funds!) by remembering the following tips.
Before transferring any of your funds, always confirm your wiring instructions by phone or in-person with a PGP Escrow Representative. When working with us, we will send your wiring instructions through our secure messaging portal – rest assured you will not receive wire payment requests from us by email.
Never hesitate to call us if you are ever suspicious of an email that mentions wiring instructions. If your intuition is telling you to proceed with caution and red flags are raised, it’s always better to be safe than sorry!
Before wiring your funds, ask your bank to confirm the name on the account. Then call your PGP Escrow Agent immediately to verify that all the funds were received. The sooner it is detected that money has been sent to the wrong account, the better chance you have of recovering it.
Together, let’s be vigilant in identifying and putting an end to fraudulent attempts. Be sure to say alert and follow these best practices to prevent yourself from falling victim to wire fraud!
For questions and assistance, we’re here to help.
Please contact our legal department at title.legal@pulte.com.