Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Wire Fraud is the Fastest Growing Real Estate Cybercrime in the U.S.

According to the FBI, the Internet Crime Complaint Center saw a 480 percent increase in the number of complaints filed last year by those in the real estate industry. Most of these complaints were related to wire fraud, a scam becoming more common in the real estate industry. This past June, news broke that a real estate phishing scam cost a New York State Supreme Court judge over $1 million.
ERA Real Estate CEO Sue Yannaconne sat down with Inside Counsel to discuss why wire fraud is a growing trend in the real estate industry. She said it’s hard to predict exactly why wire fraud is growing, but, aside from the profit related to the crime, one reason might be that more people are reporting the hacks.
“Over the last several years, we’ve heard much more about cybercrime in the media and our awareness has heightened, meaning victims could be more likely to report than they were in the past. What we know for sure is that wire fraud in real estate is on the rise–by a whole lot,” she explained.
In fact, earlier this month, the FBI told the Washington Post that in 2017, cyber criminals stole or attempted to steal almost $1 billion from real estate purchase transactions. That figure is up from $19 million in 2016, which makes wire fraud the fastest growing real estate cybercrime in the U.S.
“As with any other target for cyber criminals, if there is an opportunity to profit, the criminals will come. That said, there are likely three reasons real estate is attractive to cyber criminals,” Yannaconne said. “One, because of the diversity of targets. Second, because they prey on unknowing home buyers who don’t know how to spot a scam, and three, because of the amounts involved–it is not uncommon for buyers to wire transfers for hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
So how can this be prevented from happening to homeowners, sellers, mortgage brokers and lawyers? Mortgage brokers, lawyers and agents need to consider beefing up their internal security systems and may want to consider cyber insurance, although they’d need to do their due diligence since this form of insurance is relatively new.
According to Yannaconne, homeowners looking to buy can do several things to protect themselves including: Know when you could be targeted and be suspicious and alert as the most vulnerable time is right before a transaction closes and homebuyers prepare to send a wire transfer; be wary of wire transfer emails that change the instructions at the last minute or ask you to click a link or enter a password; scan the email for typos or other small inconsistencies–including the email address sending the instructions; always verify the wire transfer information you received in the email by phone or in person; consider using a cashier’s check instead of a wire transfer; and change your password regularly and avoid emailing about wiring instructions on an unsecured network, like that at a local coffee shop.
There are two victims in every scam: the entity whose email is hacked and the homebuyer whose money is stolen.
“For the email hack victim, a telltale sign is an email asking the recipient to click on a link,” she explained. “For the homebuyer victim, there are several signs that homebuyers should be wary of–last minute emails changing the wire transfer instructions, emails that have errors in either the body language or the email addresses themselves and emails that ask for recipients to enter a password or click on an external link.” Amanda G. Ciccatelli is a Freelance Journalist for Corporate Counsel and InsideCounsel, where she covers intellectual property, legal technology, patent litigation, cybersecurity, innovation, and more.
Amanda G. Ciccatelli is a Freelance Journalist for Corporate Counsel and InsideCounsel, where she covers intellectual property, legal technology, patent litigation, cybersecurity, innovation, and more.

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

A Double (Real Estate) Agent



Having the right agent is important when you're thinking of buying or selling. But sometimes, you need to get your home sold for a fair amount and also you need someone on your side who can help you negotiate the purchase of a new home. If this is the case, you should consider hiring the same agent to help you sell and buy. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Familiarity
A good agent will take the time to know you well, they'll figure out your likes and dislikes. This will help when you're trying to sell your home because they''ll be able to tell buyers what kind of homeowner you are and make that part of the transaction transparent and without any unexpected suprises. When you buy, they'll already know why you're looking to buy and the process of finding a home that suits your needs will go much smoother.

2. Timing
An agent who is working both sides of the transaction will be aware of your timing, and they'll do their best to make sure that when you sell you'll have something lined up to buy. It's in the agent's best interest to time this correctly and negotiate both ends of the deals so you don't end up homeless for a few days and in some cases a few weeks.

3. Resources
An agent who is invested of sides of a transaction will be one of your best resources when it is time to move. They'll make sure you have your moving plans in order and if there is any work that needs to be done to either properties, they'll have contractors on hand to help you take care of it. Doing this alone could end up taking up a lot of your time!

There's many other reason's why you should get an agent to represent both sides of the transaction but make sure that they done this before. Recently we've done 396 East View Dr,
Augusta, WV 26704 which was a 3 beds 4 baths 1,500 sq. ft. home. If you're thinking of selling your home and upgrading (or downsizing) to a new one, make sure to give me a call - I'll take fantastic care of you!