Real Estate Wire Fraud: What Homebuyers Need to Know Before Closing

You found the house. Your offer was accepted. Closing day is approaching. Then you receive an email or phone call with instructions for sending your closing funds. Everything looks right. The name is familiar. The email address looks legitimate. The phone number appears to belong to someone you have been working with. But what if it isn’t?

Real estate wire fraud is a growing threat to homebuyers, and today’s scams can be remarkably difficult to recognize. Criminals are using stolen information, spoofed email addresses, fraudulent websites, fake phone numbers and increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence to impersonate the professionals involved in a real estate transaction.

In a recent case reported by CNN, a Michigan couple preparing to purchase a condominium wired $66,000 in closing funds to a scammer after receiving communications that appeared to come from their mortgage professional. The couple even received a phone call from someone whose voice sounded like the professional they knew.

The money did not go to the closing. It went to a criminal.

What Is Real Estate Wire Fraud?

Real estate wire fraud occurs when a criminal tricks someone involved in a real estate transaction into sending money to a fraudulent bank account.

Homebuyers can be particularly vulnerable because purchasing a home often requires transferring a large amount of money shortly before closing. A fraudulent request can arrive at exactly the moment a buyer expects to receive legitimate wiring instructions.

According to CertifID’s 2026 State of Wire Fraud report, 22% of surveyed homebuyers reported receiving fraudulent communications during the homebuying process. CertifID also reports that buyer cash-to-close fraud was its most common fraud recovery category in 2025.

Why Is Wire Fraud So Easy to Overlook?

The reason is that the most dangerous scams don’t necessarily look suspicious. Criminals may obtain information about an actual transaction and use it to make a fraudulent communication appear legitimate. They may know the names of the buyer, seller, lender, real estate agent or attorney. They may imitate the writing style of someone involved in the transaction.

And the use of technology has made impersonation even more convincing. A familiar email address or telephone number can be spoofed. A fraudulent website can look authentic. And artificial intelligence can be used to create convincing audio that sounds like someone you know.

That means a familiar voice, phone number or email address should never be the only reason you trust a request to transfer money.

How Can Homebuyers Protect Their Closing Funds?

Here are 5 easy steps you can take to reduce your risk.

• Slow Down

Fraudsters often create a sense of urgency. If you receive unexpected or last-minute wiring instructions, don’t feel pressured to act immediately.

• Verify Before You Wire

Never rely solely on an email, text message or phone call to verify wiring instructions.

Use a trusted telephone number you already have for your attorney or closing professional—not a number provided in a suspicious or unexpected message—and confirm the instructions directly.

• Be Suspicious of Changes

If you are told that wiring instructions have changed, treat that as a warning sign. Independently verify the change before sending any money.

• Don’t Assume a Familiar Voice Is Proof

Voice-cloning technology means that hearing what sounds like a familiar person on the phone is no longer enough to verify a payment request. The safest approach is to independently confirm the information through a trusted channel.

• Act Immediately If Something Goes Wrong

If you believe you have sent closing funds to the wrong account, contact your bank immediately and notify your attorney or closing professional. Time can be critical when attempting to stop or recover a fraudulent wire. closing funds to the wrong account, contact your bank immediately and notify your attorney or closing professional. Time can be critical when attempting to stop or recover a fraudulent wire.

How White & Allen Helps Protect Homebuyers

At White & Allen, we know that a real estate closing involves much more than signing documents. Real Estate Attorney Elizabeth Falk states, “Our clients are trusting us with some of the most important financial transactions of their lives. We take that responsibility seriously. That is why we continually look for ways to add layers of protection to the real estate transactions we handle.”

As part of our commitment to client security, White & Allen uses CertifID, a wire verification and protection service, as an additional layer of protection against wire fraud. CertifID provides technology designed to verify transaction participants and banking information and offers insurance and recovery services as part of its protection platform.

Of course, no technology can replace good judgment. We still encourage our clients to be cautious, ask questions and independently verify any unexpected request involving money.

But we want our clients to know that protecting their interests doesn’t stop when the documents are prepared. Much of the work we do to protect our clients happens quietly, behind the scenes.

Your Home. Your Money. Our Responsibility.

Buying a home should be an exciting milestone—not a lesson in how convincing a scam can be.

The methods used by fraudsters will continue to evolve. Our commitment to protecting our clients will evolve with them.

When you choose White & Allen for your real estate transaction, you can expect us to look beyond the paperwork and consider the risks that could affect you throughout the process. You may not always see the safeguards we put in place. That’s okay. That’s part of our job.

White & Allen. Built on Trust.