Real Estate Wire Fraud in SC is real! Do be lulled into the idea of “it won’t happen to me”! Laziness, inattentiveness and simply being too busy to pay attention, is what cyber criminals rely on to get your money. They are waiting for you to let your guard down and give them the opportunity to steal from you.

How Do Cyber Criminals Create Real Estate Wire Fraud In SC

The goal of the cyber criminal is to have you wire funds to them instead of the correct party. They do this by hacking into computers and monitoring emails so they can determine the parties to a transaction. First they will discover the names and contact information of the parties to the transaction. Then, they will impersonate a party to the transaction and attempt to divert the money being wired for the closing. What they are relying on is for you to either be unknowledgeable about their strategy, or simply not paying attention.

Who Are Targets

Anyone in a real estate transaction can be a target of real estate wire fraud in SC. Whether you’re the homebuyer, home seller, mortgage company, closing attorney or many others, your money can be at risk.

• The Buyer: The home buyer wires downpayment and closing cost money to the attorney for closing.
• The Closing Attorney: The attorney wires money to the sellers lender to payoff the home sellers loan. They may also wire the home seller their proceeds from the sale. The attorney also occasionally wires the real estate companies their commission checks. Also based on the settlement statement they may wire money to a variety of service providers in the transaction.
• The Mortgage Company: The home buyers mortgage company wires the money the buyer is borrowing to the attorney’s office for closing.
• The Home Seller: The seller may wire their proceeds money to their investment banker or others.

This list is just a small sample of the subsequent transactions the are executed as a result of a real estate sale. And…their probably many others that we haven’t mentioned.

So you see the stakes are high and it’s easy to understand why a real estate transaction is target of cyber criminals.

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How Do I Protect Myself From Real Estate Wire Fraud In SC?

• Pay Attention: No one is going to look out for your money like you will!
• Always be suspicious of emailed wire instructions.
• Check the wire’s authenticity and routing numbers.
• Verify wiring instructions with a trusted source either in person or over the phone with someone you actually know and will recognize their voice. Never by email or text.

Cyber criminals are very clever and will use a variety of methods to steal your information and your money. The SC Real Estate Board has produced a disclosure form to help increase the public awareness of this issue. Although, it is not a required form, most professional realtors will provide this form to educate their clients.

We feel that our job is more than helping clients make a great real estate deal. It’s also about informing them about things like Wire Fraud that could have a devastating impact on their lives. We want to protect our clients interests every step of the way so they can have a fulfilling financial future.

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What Does Real Estate Wire Fraud Look Like?

Below is actual correspondence between a cyber criminal and a homebuyer. The names of the parties and other sensitive information have been altered to protect their privacy.

• This email message has a sense of urgency and requires the homebuyer to reply to the message.
• It uses the word “Kindly” in a way that some people might not.
• The author uses questionable grammer in the message which is often a tip-off that something is not right.
• The sender is using an email signature and company name that matches a real person and the real company.

• At this point the homebuyer is unaware that they are being targeted in an attempted Wire Fraud.
• For the homebuyer, requesting the wiring information at this stage is normal and appropriate!
• So why wouldn’t the homebuyer be willing to send the wire based on this correspondence?

Luckily in this case, the homebuyer became suspicious! Would you have sent the wire without verifying the authenticity of the instructions? It’s a pretty scary thought but these crimes happen and innocent people are hurt financially by crime like this too often.

Here is a great tip on how to discover the true source of an email!

This is how the cyber criminals disguise their true identities when sending spam and phishing emails. Now you know how to discover the email source.

If you ever feel like you are being targeted by a cyber criminal make sure your report it to the proper authorities.

I hope you’ve found this information helpful and informative. As a real estate professional for the last 35 years I’ve seen a few scams in my time. However, none have had such a devastating effect on peoples lives as Real Estate Wire Fraud. Beware, cyber criminals are out there and they are hunting for our money!

The original concept for this article and graphics provided by Title Alliance Greenbrier, LLC

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Have A Question?

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It’s important to know what to bring to a loan application. The list below is to help all homebuyers make the most of their face to face time with the lender. So when your buying a home in Charleston you can focus on the home not the financing.

Top Requests-What To Bring To A Loan Application

Photo ID

This should be obvious. Your lender and the government want to know that you are who you say you are! A drivers license or passport should suffice.

Credit History

In this day and age, most people should expect that the lender will pull their credit report. Interestingly, most people have a pretty good idea of what’s on their credit report. If you know there is anything on yours that is questionable, be prepared to explain any blemish in detail in writing. Again, this is to establish whether or not lending to you is a good risk!

Tax Returns

Most Banks and Mortgage Lenders will want you to bring to a loan application your most recent two years’ of tax returns. What the returns show them is your consistency in reported earnings. This is the beginning of putting together a complete representation of your current financial situation. Additionally, you may be asked to sign a Form 4506-T. IRS Form 4506-T allows your prospective mortgage lender to request a copy of your tax returns directly from the IRS.

W-2’s, 1099’s, Pay Stubs

Your mortgage lender will also ask you to bring to a loan application your most recent pay stubs. Your pay stubs will confirm what your current earning are. If your up for any pay increases in the near future, this is where you should let them know. During your pre-approval process the lender will attempt to find the balance your income and your liabilities. This is how they determine what they will be willing to lend you. Once they discover where your balance (ratio: debt to income) is, looking at your tax returns will give them a clear picture of your long term financial strength. Self employed folks should provide their 1099’s to support their income.

What To Bring To A Loan Application

Bank Statements And Other Assets

One of the goals of any bank or mortgage underwriter is to assess your risk profile. They do this by taking a look at bank statements and other documented assets. Included in the group could be investment portfolio statements, Life Insurance Policies etc. What they are looking for is to see that you have financial reserves. They want to know that in the case of an emergency, you will still be able to make your mortgage payments. Additionally, they will want to see that your downpayment has been in your bank account for several months. This is all designed to create the picture of your financial stability.

Gift Letters

Many times homebuyers receive assistance for a family member of a friend. If this is the case, the lender will require you to produce a “Gift Letter”. This is an acknowledgement of the giver, that the money is intended to be a gift and no repayment is required. Many lenders have either a form for this or will simply give you and example letter to follow.

Rental History

If you don’t already have a mortgage, your rental history is the proof that you pay your bills on time. Some loans and lenders may have slightly different requirements for this. Typically a lender could ask for up to a year’s worth of canceled rent checks. A new borrowers rental history is very important if a borrower doesn’t have a long credit history.

What To Bring To A Loan Application

Why is this important?

Your mortgage loan officer compiles your financial information just like an attorney would prepare for a case. Their job is to prepare your file based on a fixed set of guidelines to present to the underwriters who approve or deny your loan. Keep in mind, they want to make the loan to you. That’s how they get paid. If they ask you for additional documentation, there is a reason for it. And, you can be sure it’s to make your “case” better looking for the underwriter who ultimately makes the decision to finance you or not.

Some Really Great Questions To Ask Your Lender

But most people never do!

• Do I qualify for any other mortgage options?
• Why is this the best mortgage type for me?
• Do you see anything that I could improve on my credit report that will help me to qualify for a better loan?
• Are you quoting me a rate with mortgage points being charged?
• Does buying points to reduce my rate make sense in my scenario?

If your lender can’t answer these questions with non-biased answers, you should speak with another lender. 

If your lender gets upset by these questions being asked and says something like “I’m the expert, let me worry about the loan type.”, find another lender.

Conclusion – What To Bring To A Loan Application

Who you hire for your mortgage is important and not a decision to be taken lightly. Make sure your lender has been vetted by either your real estate agent or someone you completely trust. In the mortgage industry we have found that their are a lot of great salespeople out there, but the pro’s who deliver great results day in and day out are few and far between. Let us know if we can introduce you to one of our best in the business professionals? 

Basic Fannie Mae Homebuyer Lending Requirements.

“Did you know you some lenders have the ability to qualify you without a hard pull on your credit report? While the hard pull credit inquiry is required for full loan approval, a soft pull process lets you research your options earlier in your homebuying journey without affecting your credit.”

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Let us know how we can help you? Contact Us at 843-972-7670