By Carrie Resch, Contributing Writer
With the reliance on technology in the real estate industry, agents must be vigilant to avoid cybercrime and wire fraud.
Kay Peterson, agency account manager with Fidelity National Title Group, and attorney Jeff Marks of Ryan, Marks and Stromberg Attorneys LLP, shared their advice at a Northeast Florida Association of Realtors Broker Breakfast in May.
Peterson defined cybercrime as any time credit and/or financial information is stolen by a hacker and used in a criminal manner.
“It’s one of the fastest-growing areas of crime,” Peterson said. “Real estate agents and their buyers and sellers are easy targets for cyberscammers because this industry has become so reliant on technology.”
There are steps agents can take to protect themselves:
Email and Wi-Fi
Agents should use brokerage domain names for their email accounts, Peterson cautioned, instead of relying on free email services.
Review incoming email carefully. Fraudulent email may contain spelling or grammatical mistakes. Check if the email is missing a logo or if it looks like a different format than what you see from a frequent sender.
Be cautious of links in emails and attachments. Don’t open attachments from an unknown sender.
For links, hover the curser over the link before clicking to check it or open a new browser and type the URL directly into the address bar.
Passwords
Use strong, unique passwords for every account. Take care not to store the passwords on a written note in the office.
“Every password for every site should be different,” Peterson said. “Random numbers and letters are best.”
A tip to create a strong password is to create a key phrase that is easy to remember, such as a favorite song or movie.
Take the phrase and convert it to an abbreviation using the first letter of each word.
Then take something in that phrase and convert it to a number. For instance, the word “to” could be changed to 2 and “for” to 4.
Finally, whatever website the password is for, take the first and last letter of the website and insert the created phrase between those letters.
Personal information
Don’t collect personal information if it’s not needed, or have a plan to safely and securely dispose of it once it’s no longer needed.
“Lenders are very concerned about consumer NPPI, or non-public personal information,” Peterson said.
Think about what is stored in your transaction files, she said. Don’t make copies of a driver’s license, for example, if there’s no need to do so.
Wire fraud
Wire fraud can occur when a hacker gains access to an agent’s accounts and sends an email pretending to be the settlement agent or the seller’s agent.
“The typical wire fraud we’re most concerned about is against your buyer,” Marks said.
If you suspect someone is sending a fraudulent email, call the intended recipient of the wire and verify the instructions.
For example, ask which person in your office is going to do the closing so you can tell if you’re getting a real answer from the real settlement agent, Marks suggested.
Alternatively, agents can hand a hard copy of the wire instructions to the settlement agent before closing or fax the instructions.
Just be sure the intended receiver is standing by to receive the fax.
“If you believe your buyer or your seller has been the victim of wiring money to the wrong place, your first call is their bank, the second call is to the FBI,” Marks said.
The bank possibly can stop the transaction within an hour of discovering the wire was sent to the wrong place.
The FBI can be reached at (904) 248-7000.
Marks asked how many people in attendance had experienced wire fraud in their office.
Five of the approximately 40 people in attendance raised their hands.
“The rest of you will,” Marks warned. “If you have not, you’re lucky.”