***COVINGTON TITLE, LLC WILL NEVER ASK YOU TO WIRE MONEY VIA EMAIL WITHOUT FIRST CONFIRMING THAT REQUEST WITH YOU OVER THE PHONE. WE WILL NEVER CHANGE OUR WIRE INSTRUCTIONS. THE WIRE INSTRUCTIONS YOU RECEIVE FROM OUR OFFICE AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR TRANSACTION ARE THE CORRECT AND ONLY LEGITIMATE WIRE INSTRUCTIONS YOU WILL RECEIVE. CALL OUR OFFICE IMMEDIATELY IF YOU RECEIVE ANY REQUEST VIA EMAIL TO WIRE MONEY OR TO CHANGE OUR WIRE INSTRUCTIONS.***

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Realtors, brokers, closing attorneys and agents, buyers, and sellers are targets for wire fraud and many have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars because they simply relied on wire instructions received via email.

 

A fraudster will hack into a party’s email account to obtain information about upcoming real estate transactions. After monitoring the account to determine the likely timing of a closing, the fraudster will send an email to the buyer purporting to be the escrow agent of another party to the transaction. The fraudulent email will contain new wiring instructions or routing information, and will request that the buyer send funds to the fraudulent account.

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Covington Title, LLC urges everyone to INQUIRE BEFORE YOU WIRE and to never rely solely on email communication.