1
Do not trust email alone
Email accounts and message threads can be compromised or convincingly imitated.
Stop. Call. Verify.
Protect your closing funds from wire fraud.
Criminals can imitate trusted people and change payment instructions. Treat every wiring message as unverified until you confirm it using a phone number you already know is legitimate.
Three rules that protect every transaction.
2
Call a known number
Verify instructions verbally using a number from a trusted source—not a number inside the suspicious message.
3
Question every change
Last-minute changes to wiring instructions, accounts or recipients are a major warning sign.
Warning signs
- Urgent pressure to send funds immediately
- A new bank, recipient or account number
- Small changes in an email address or signature
- Requests to keep new instructions confidential
- Unusual grammar, tone or timing
If you think money was misdirected
- Call your bank’s fraud department immediately.
- Ask the bank to attempt a wire recall or freeze.
- Call the trusted closing contact directly.
- Report the incident to appropriate law enforcement and the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Veterans Approved Title will never object to verification.
If anything feels unusual, pause. A legitimate closing team will understand why you are calling a trusted number to confirm instructions before funds move.