Wire transfer fraud

Wire transfer fraud is one of the highest-dollar scams in America. The typical victim is someone about to close on a house, and the pattern is almost surgical: a fake email appears to come from the title company, giving wire instructions at the critical moment. The buyer sends their down payment — often hundreds of thousands of dollars — to a fraudster's account. The money is usually gone within hours, and banks can rarely recover wires once sent.

How it works

1. Attackers compromise the email account of a real estate agent, title company employee, or attorney (usually through phishing).
2. They sit silently in the email inbox, watching for an active transaction approaching closing.
3. At the critical moment, they send a message that looks exactly like a real one from the title company — often replying within a real email thread — with 'updated wire instructions.'
4. The buyer, trusting the thread, wires the money to the fraudster's bank account.
5. The money is immediately moved through multiple accounts and often converted to crypto. Recovery is rare.

Business wire fraud

Small businesses face a similar version: an attacker compromises an executive's email, then sends the CFO or bookkeeper an 'urgent' wire instruction to a new vendor. Defense: a written policy that any new wire destination requires phone verification with the employee who requested it. Any exception to this policy should be treated as a red flag, not a normal request.