Good afternoon —
Cybercrime continues to get more sophisticated, wreaking havoc on businesses of all kinds. Some title companies experienced this firsthand when cloud services provider Cloudstar was the victim of a ransomware attack this summer. The attack took the company offline for several months and the forensic investigation and data recovery efforts stretched from the initial attack on July 16 all the way to Oct. 8.
But as cybersecurity expert Selim Aissi, the keynote speaker at our 2021 HW Annual event, warned in his presentation, cyberattacks don't have to be that sophisticated to cause real damage. Regular old business email compromise is still one of the most effective scams out there, especially when it comes to wire fraud at the time of mortgage loan closing.
A story reported last week by WRAL in North Carolina serves as the latest cautionary tale, showing how one man lost nearly $50,000 by wiring it to cybercriminals instead of his title company. The scammers had the closing disclosure paperwork, which meant they knew the exact amount owed and all the other pertinent details. As WRAL reported:
He had emailed his legitimate title company that morning, but somehow, a scammer hijacked the exchange, sending 23 back-and-forth emails. One even included a note of congratulations. The emails also included the legitimate name and signature from his title company contact.
The part that stands out to me is having the closing disclosure, and the fact they sent 23 emails. By that time, the homebuyer would surely be convinced he was dealing with the right players, especially because he had emailed the legitimate title company that morning.
How are title companies ensuring homebuyers are wiring to the right place and not getting hijacked along the way? I'd love to hear what's working to thwart this type of wire fraud, so let me know at swheeler@housingwire.com.
...We are introducing Noteworthy. a new section where I'll provide short wrap-ups of staff changes or acquisitions not covered by longer stories. Here's one for today:
WFG added Debbie Youens and Gregg Harris to its South Texas Team, adding Austin and Houston Divisions to its current Dallas/Fort Worth and San Antonio divisions.
Until next week —
Sarah Wheeler
HousingWire Editor in Chief
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