Before You Wire Money for a Home: The Closing Scam Every Buyer Needs to Understand

Imagine you're buying a house.

You've made the offer, survived inspections, finished the mortgage paperwork, secured insurance and finally reached the week you've been waiting for.

Then an email arrives.

It looks like it's from the title company. The logo is right. Your property address is right. They know your closing date, and the message tells you exactly where to wire the money you'll need for closing.

There's just one problem.

It isn't the title company.

And if you send that money to the wrong account, getting it back can be extremely difficult.

This isn't some poorly written email promising you millions from a prince you've never met. Real estate wire fraud can be sophisticated, targeted and frighteningly believable.

Buyers need a system for protecting themselves.

Current context

The FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report recorded approximately $123.7 million in reported losses categorized as real estate crime. Separately, business email compromise, a broader category that can include criminals manipulating legitimate-looking business communications, produced substantial reported losses as well.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau updated its mortgage-closing scam guidance in June 2026 and continues to warn homebuyers about criminals impersonating real estate and settlement professionals to redirect closing funds.

These figures and dates are included for current context only. Fraud tactics and reported losses will change. The protection strategy below should remain useful regardless of the annual statistics.

How the scam works

A real estate transaction creates an attractive target because large amounts of money move between multiple people within a relatively short period.

A buyer may communicate with:

• Their real estate agent

• Mortgage lender

• Title company or closing agent

• Insurance agent

• Attorney, where applicable

• Bank

Criminals may compromise or impersonate someone involved in those communications.

Then they wait.

As closing approaches, the buyer receives what appears to be a legitimate message containing wiring instructions.

The email might say the instructions have changed.

It might create urgency.

It might contain details about the transaction that make the message appear authentic.

That's exactly why this scam works.

Rule #1: Never trust wiring instructions simply because they arrived by email

This is the single most important thing I want buyers to remember.

An email looking legitimate does not make the wiring instructions legitimate.

Email addresses can be spoofed. Accounts can be compromised. Logos and signatures can be copied.

Even information about your property may not prove anything.

Real estate transactions generate public and private information in multiple places, and criminals are increasingly good at making fraudulent communication look convincing.

Treat wiring instructions as something that must be independently verified.

Every time.

Establish the verification process early

Don't wait until closing morning to figure out who you're supposed to call.

Early in the transaction, identify the people authorized to provide or verify closing instructions.

Save their contact information directly in your phone.

That might include your title or settlement agent and your real estate professional.

The CFPB specifically recommends identifying trusted representatives ahead of closing and using contact information you already know to be legitimate.

That's important.

If a suspicious email says:

"Please call Susan at 555-1234 to confirm these instructions,"

don't call that number.

Call Susan using the number you saved previously or independently verified.

The person who sent the questionable instructions doesn't get to tell you how to verify the questionable instructions.

Be suspicious of last-minute changes

You're scheduled to close Friday.

Thursday afternoon an email arrives:

"URGENT: Updated wiring instructions for tomorrow's closing."

Stop.

Don't click anything.

Don't reply.

Don't call the phone number in the email.

Contact your known title or settlement representative independently and verify whether anything actually changed.

A change doesn't automatically mean fraud.

But a last-minute change involving where you're sending a large amount of money deserves your full attention.

Five minutes of verification beats explaining to your spouse that the house money just disappeared.

Don't verify an email with another email

This is another mistake buyers can make.

You receive suspicious wiring instructions and reply:

"Are these correct?"

The criminal controlling or impersonating that email account replies:

"Yes."

You haven't verified anything.

You've potentially asked the scammer whether the scammer is telling the truth.

Verification should happen through a separate, trusted communication channel.

Call a previously verified phone number or confirm the information in person.

Compare every detail

When confirming instructions, don't simply ask:

"Is this your bank?"

Verify the actual information.

Confirm:

• Bank name

• Routing number

• Account number

• Account name

• Amount being sent

• Any reference information required

If something doesn't match, stop.

Do not assume it's a typo.

Don't let urgency override common sense

Fraudsters love urgency because urgency short-circuits good judgment.

"Wire immediately."

"Closing will be delayed."

"We need this in the next 30 minutes."

Maybe there's a legitimate deadline.

Maybe there isn't.

Either way, nobody involved in your transaction should object to you independently verifying where you're about to send tens of thousands, or potentially hundreds of thousands, of dollars.

If someone pressures you not to verify it, that's another reason to stop.

Buyers aren't the only targets

Sellers need to pay attention too.

A seller may provide banking information for proceeds from the sale.

The same basic rule applies.

Protect financial information and independently verify any request involving where your proceeds will be sent.

If someone suddenly contacts you asking to "update" the account receiving your proceeds, treat that request very seriously.

What if you already sent the wire?

Speed matters.

If you believe money was wired fraudulently, don't spend an hour trying to figure out exactly what happened before taking action.

Immediately contact your bank or wire-transfer provider and request that the transaction be stopped or recalled if possible.

Then contact the legitimate title or settlement company and your real estate professional.

The CFPB also directs victims to report these crimes to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.

There is no guarantee that transferred funds can be recovered.

The sooner the financial institutions and authorities know, the better the opportunity may be to intervene.

What this means for Florida buyers and sellers

Whether you're closing on a $275,000 home in Ocala, a new construction property outside Tampa or a waterfront condo in Clearwater or Sarasota, the basic protection is exactly the same.

The size of the transaction doesn't determine whether you can be targeted.

Florida's active real estate market also involves plenty of remote transactions. Buyers relocate here from other states, investors purchase properties without being physically present and sellers sometimes close after they've already moved.

Convenience is great.

It also makes disciplined verification even more important.

If you're closing remotely, establish your communication and wire-verification procedure with your title or closing professional before closing week.

My closing-funds checklist

Before wiring a dollar:

1. Save verified contact information for your title or settlement professional early in the transaction.

2. Treat emailed wiring instructions cautiously.

3. Never accept a last-minute change without independent verification.

4. Don't use a phone number contained in the suspicious message to verify it.

5. Confirm the routing number, account number and account name through a trusted channel.

6. Never let artificial urgency pressure you into skipping verification.

7. If anything feels different from what you've previously been told, stop and ask questions.

8. If you believe you've sent money fraudulently, contact your bank immediately.

There's nothing complicated about this system.

That's the point.

The bottom line

Buying a home involves enough risk without voluntarily sending your life savings to a criminal.

Technology has made real estate transactions faster and more convenient. It has also made impersonation easier.

So slow down when the money starts moving.

Verify.

Then verify again.

If I'm representing you in a purchase or sale, I'd much rather you call me with a question that turns out to be nothing than assume an unusual request is legitimate because the email looked convincing.

Whether you're buying or selling in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Sarasota, Ocala or the surrounding Florida markets, my job isn't finished when we negotiate the contract.

It's helping you safely reach the closing table with your money going exactly where it's supposed to go.

And when we're talking about your down payment or sale proceeds, being a little paranoid isn't a bad strategy.