How does real estate wire fraud work?
An FBI public service announcement warns that business email compromise scams target everyone in a real estate transaction, including buyers, sellers, agents and lawyers. The scammer takes over or imitates an email account and sends a message made to look like a legitimate request, such as new instructions for wiring your funds.
The Florida Bar's buyer guide warns that wire fraud is rampant in real estate transactions and that the buyer or the buyer's lender is required to wire funds to the closing agent before or on closing day, so verify instructions independently.[2][3]
How do you protect your closing funds?
The CFPB and the FBI's IC3 recommend habits that apply to every wire in a home purchase:
- Identify two trusted people, such as your closing agent and your real estate professional, to confirm the closing process and payment instructions
- Before wiring, confirm the instructions by phone using a number you agreed on earlier or looked up yourself
- Do not email financial information; email is never a secure way to send it
- Verify through a separate channel that you are still communicating with your real closing agent before sending money
- Treat any change in payment instructions as something to confirm by phone before you act on it[1][2]
What should you do if you sent money to a scammer?
Contact your bank or wire-transfer company immediately after you discover the fraudulent transfer and ask for a wire recall.
File a complaint with the FBI's IC3 complaint center at ic3.gov regardless of the dollar amount lost, and tell your closing agent and real estate professional so they can alert others involved in the transaction.[1][2]
Key takeaways
- Always confirm wiring instructions by phone using a number you already know.
- Never trust changed wiring instructions that arrive by email or text.
- Do not send financial information by email.
- If a wire goes to the wrong account, call your bank right away and ask for a recall.
- Report wire fraud to the FBI's IC3 complaint center at ic3.gov.
Sources
- [1]CFPB — Mortgage closing scams: How to protect yourself and your closing funds
- [2]FBI IC3 — Public Service Announcement: Business E-mail Compromise / E-mail Account Compromise (May 2017)
- [3]The Florida Bar — Consumer Pamphlet: Buying a Home
Reviewed October 11, 2026. General real-estate information for Florida, not legal, tax, lending or insurance advice. Laws, rates and deadlines change — confirm property-specific facts with the agency cited, a Florida real-estate attorney, CPA or licensed insurance agent.