How to Protect Your Closing Funds from Wire Fraud

An email arrives the afternoon before closing. It uses your attorney’s name, references the correct property, and says the receiving account has changed. The message insists that you wire the money immediately to keep the closing on schedule.

Pause the transfer and verify the instructions with the authorized recipient through an independent channel. A familiar name and accurate transaction details do not by themselves establish that a payment request is genuine.

The FBI describes business email compromise schemes in which criminals imitate trusted contacts or gain access to real email conversations. Home purchase transfers are among the examples it identifies. FBI business email compromise guidance

Early in the transaction, discuss payment procedures with your closing attorney or settlement representative. Identify the people authorized to confirm instructions and independently verify their telephone numbers. Save those numbers somewhere you can reach without opening a new payment email. The CFPB recommends establishing trusted contacts and confirming instructions directly before wiring funds. CFPB closing scam precautions

Make a short closing-day plan. Who will initiate the transfer? Who will make the verification call? Who will confirm receipt with the intended recipient? If another household member is handling the payment, make sure that person has the same verified contacts and understands the steps.

Ask the bank about transfer procedures, cutoff times and preparation requirements in advance. Include the payment plan in your closing checklist so a last-minute rush does not lead you to skip verification.

Call the previously verified number or meet the authorized representative in person. Confirm the recipient, bank, routing information, account number, amount, and purpose through that trusted channel. Do not use a telephone number or link supplied in the suspicious message as the means of checking that same message. CFPB verification guidance

For your own record, note whom you spoke with and when. Review the information entered at your bank against the independently verified instructions before approving the transfer. After sending, retain the bank confirmation and check with the intended recipient that the funds arrived. A payment receipt alone should not be treated as your closing team’s acknowledgment of receipt.

If something does not match, pause and contact your attorney. Resolve the discrepancy before authorizing a transfer. A request to hurry, keep a change secret, or abandon the agreed process should increase your caution. The FBI specifically warns about urgency and recommends verifying changes in payment procedures. FBI fraud prevention guidance

Contact your bank’s fraud or wire department immediately using its official contact information. Explain that a fraudulent closing instruction may have redirected the payment. Ask the bank to attempt a recall and contact the receiving institution. Report the incident to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. The FBI’s reporting guidance emphasizes immediate contact with the financial institution.

Notify your actual closing attorney through a verified channel so the next steps for the transaction can be assessed. Save emails and payment confirmations and prepare a timeline for the bank and investigators, but do not delay contacting the bank while organizing evidence.

Recovery is uncertain. The FTC cautions that money paid to scammers may already be gone, while still urging people to ask the payment provider about reversal or recovery. If you also disclosed a password, change it through the service’s genuine site, change reused passwords, and enable two-factor authentication. FTC guidance after a scam

What if the message is in our existing email thread? Follow the same verification process. The FBI explains that criminals can access legitimate threads, so continuity of conversation is not sufficient proof.

If the account has genuinely changed, the authorized recipient can confirm it through the established process. Verification is a normal part of making a payment and should not be skipped out of concern about offending someone.

Review your cash-to-close budget and low appraisal next steps while preparing for closing.

Ask a B Square Realty agent to help coordinate your closing preparation with your attorney and lender. Confirm all money-transfer instructions directly with the authorized recipient through an independently verified channel.