Cybercrime is far more prevalent these days than its ever been before, and with the vast amounts of money involved in real estate transactions, it means that real estate pros, buyers and sellers could all find themselves being targeted.
That theory is backed by a 2014 Forrester Research study, which reveals that people who’ve bought a home in the last year are 2.8 times more likely to have their identity stolen. As further evidence, San Diego police shut down a massive identity theft operation in 2012, and the police said that most of the stolen information came by way of real estate data.
The problem for real estate pros is that hackers and cybercriminals are developing increasingly more sophisticated methods to steal data all the time. That’s why Realty Biz News has identified four of the most prevalent cyber-scams affecting real estate pros, so you can take steps to mitigate the risk.
Wire Fraud
The Georgia Association of Realtors issued a warning to members early last year not to e-mail money wiring instructions to their clients. The warning came after it was discovered that criminals had been mimicking realtor’s e-mails and sending similar ones to clients with the intention of diverting funds to fraudulent accounts.
The ruse is a simple one. The scammer identifies a transaction that’s taking place and the parties involved, then simply pretends to the buyer, seller, real estate agent, or someone else involved in the closing of a deal. They will often spoof the email of the person they’re imitating so it looks very similar (for example, by using [email protected] instead of [email protected]), and will typically claim there has been a last-minute change of details, and provide new wiring instructions. And once the money is transferred to the scammer’s account, it’s lost.
To mitigate this kind of scam, agents need to be aware of it. If they receive an email like the one above, they need to call their clients and check that the email is indeed genuine.
Ransomware
This is a more sophisticated scam that’s been around since last year. The problem starts when you click on an advertisement, open an e-mail or attachment, or visit an website. Once the victim’s device is infested with the “ransomware,” the victim’s files become encrypted so that they can’t access them. If the victim pays the ransom fee, sometimes he or she will get their system and information back. Sometimes, they don’t.
The financial impact to victims, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, is typically between $200 and $10,000. Many victims incur additional costs associated with network mitigation, countermeasures, loss of productivity, legal fees, IT services, and the purchase of credit monitoring services for employees or customers.
Between April 2014 and June 2015, the FBI received 992 complaints relating to ransomware, with victims reporting losses totaling more than $18 million.
The Tech Support Scam
It’s not all high-tech; some scam artists are using the phone to get information they can use to hack into your computer, the Federal Trade Commission warns. Scammers will usually claim to be IT professionals at well-known companies such as Microsoft. They talk about finding malware and viruses on your computer to convince you to give them remote access or pay for new software you really don’t need.
Once you are on the phone with them, they try to win your trust and ask you to go to your computer. But no matter how official they sound, be advised that legitimate companies WILL NOT DO THIS. Therefore, do not give them remote access or enroll in anything they are offering. Just hang up and call the company they claimed to be representing yourself on a phone number you know is correct.
Phishing
Fraudsters impersonate businesses to trick you into giving out personal information, a technique known as ‘phishing‘. This kind of scam usually involves sending an email that contains a malicious link to a compromised website which will ask you to input certain personal information. The compromised website will look like authentic, just like the site of the company the hacker is impers
Cybercrime is far more prevalent these days than its ever been before, and with the vast amounts of money involved in real estate transactions, it means that real estate pros, buyers and sellers could all find themselves being targeted.
That theory is backed by a 2014 Forrester Research study, which reveals that people who’ve bought a home in the last year are 2.8 times more likely to have their identity stolen. As further evidence, San Diego police shut down a massive identity theft operation in 2012, and the police said that most of the stolen information came by way of real estate data.
The problem for real estate pros is that hackers and cybercriminals are developing increasingly more sophisticated methods to steal data all the time. That’s why Realty Biz News has identified four of the most prevalent cyber-scams affecting real estate pros, so you can take steps to mitigate the risk.
Wire Fraud
The Georgia Association of Realtors issued a warning to members early last year not to e-mail money wiring instructions to their clients. The warning came after it was discovered that criminals had been mimicking realtor’s e-mails and sending similar ones to clients with the intention of diverting funds to fraudulent accounts.
The ruse is a simple one. The scammer identifies a transaction that’s taking place and the parties involved, then simply pretends to the buyer, seller, real estate agent, or someone else involved in the closing of a deal. They will often spoof the email of the person they’re imitating so it looks very similar (for example, by using [email protected] instead of [email protected]), and will typically claim there has been a last-minute change of details, and provide new wiring instructions. And once the money is transferred to the scammer’s account, it’s lost.
To mitigate this kind of scam, agents need to be aware of it. If they receive an email like the one above, they need to call their clients and check that the email is indeed genuine.
Ransomware
This is a more sophisticated scam that’s been around since last year. The problem starts when you click on an advertisement, open an e-mail or attachment, or visit an website. Once the victim’s device is infested with the “ransomware,” the victim’s files become encrypted so that they can’t access them. If the victim pays the ransom fee, sometimes he or she will get their system and information back. Sometimes, they don’t.
The financial impact to victims, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, is typically between $200 and $10,000. Many victims incur additional costs associated with network mitigation, countermeasures, loss of productivity, legal fees, IT services, and the purchase of credit monitoring services for employees or customers.
Between April 2014 and June 2015, the FBI received 992 complaints relating to ransomware, with victims reporting losses totaling more than $18 million.
The Tech Support Scam
It’s not all high-tech; some scam artists are using the phone to get information they can use to hack into your computer, the Federal Trade Commission warns. Scammers will usually claim to be IT professionals at well-known companies such as Microsoft. They talk about finding malware and viruses on your computer to convince you to give them remote access or pay for new software you really don’t need.
Once you are on the phone with them, they try to win your trust and ask you to go to your computer. But no matter how official they sound, be advised that legitimate companies WILL NOT DO THIS. Therefore, do not give them remote access or enroll in anything they are offering. Just hang up and call the company they claimed to be representing yourself on a phone number you know is correct.
Phishing
Fraudsters impersonate businesses to trick you into giving out personal information, a technique known as ‘phishing‘. This kind of scam usually involves sending an email that contains a malicious link to a compromised website which will ask you to input certain personal information. The compromised website will look like authentic, just like the site of the company the hacker is impersonating, but of course it isn’t. In fact, it’s just a fake website designed to collect your personal data so you can be scammed.
Be aware that email isn’t the only ‘phishing’ tactic. Malicious links can also be sent via social media, instant messaging or even via pop-up windows from real websites that have been hacked. The best way to avoid this kind of scam is to carefully check the URL of whatever website you’re visiting to ensure it’s the real deal.
onating, but of course it isn’t. In fact, it’s just a fake website designed to collect your personal data so you can be scammed.
Be aware that email isn’t the only ‘phishing’ tactic. Malicious links can also be sent via social media, instant messaging or even via pop-up windows from real websites that have been hacked. The best way to avoid this kind of scam is to carefully check the URL of whatever website you’re visiting to ensure it’s the real deal.
About Mike Wheatley
