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.

Stop before sending. Independently verify the instructions with the person responsible for receiving your funds. A familiar name and accurate transaction details are not enough to 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 your bank ahead of time about its transfer process, cutoff time, and any preparation it requires. This planning reduces the temptation to skip verification because a deadline is approaching. Keep the plan with your closing checklist rather than relying on memory during a busy move.

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 the verified channel so the transaction’s next steps can be assessed. Keep the messages, payment confirmation, and a timeline available for the bank and investigators. Do not wait until you have assembled a perfect record before calling the bank.

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.

What if the account change is genuine? The authorized recipient can confirm it through your established process. Treat verification as a routine part of payment rather than a judgment about someone’s honesty.

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.