October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. In real estate, that issue is especially important when it comes to protecting our customers’ data and money. It’s a subject we talk about a lot here, but we can never talk too much about this topic.
We know our Realtors and loan officers are doing everything they can to talk to customers about this, too.
However, if you’re finding it hard to get people to listen when it comes to the dangers of wire fraud – try using the words “Secret Service” and “$21 million.”
That’s right. The agency recently announced it helped prevent a Business Email Compromise scam that, if successful, would have resulted in a multi-million-dollar loss. While BEC scams affect all sectors, we know all too well that real estate is a prime target because of the amount of money involved in a single transaction.
Here’s what the Secret Service wrote in its release:
“The Secret Service continues to see a sharp rise in BEC incidents – both successful attacks and unsuccessful attempts – across all sectors of business and industry. The real estate industry, in particular, has seen a notable impact.”
Transnation Title will continue to do everything we can to keep our customers secure, but it’s important that we are all aware of these dangerous scams. Using multi-factor authentication and changing email passwords regularly is a great place to start, and if something seems off during your transaction, it probably is.
This month, and all year long, remember to, “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.” You can always reach out to us to talk wire fraud, real estate or title insurance whenever the need arises.