The Wire Fraud Advisory is a disclosure that warns buyers, sellers, and all parties to a real estate transaction about the serious and growing threat of wire fraud. Criminals specifically target real estate closings because large sums of money are transferred in a short window of time.

The scam typically works like this: a criminal gains access to email communications between a buyer, agent, title company, or lender. They then send a fraudulent email — appearing to come from a trusted party — with fake wiring instructions. The buyer wires their closing funds to the criminal's account. Once sent, wire transfers are extremely difficult to recover.

The Advisory instructs buyers to always verify wiring instructions by calling a known, verified phone number — never a number provided in an email — before sending any funds. It also warns against clicking links in emails related to wire transfers.