Jim Lorenzen, CFP®, AIF®
First I want to point out that this post is really courtesy of Senior Deputy Becky Purnell of the Moorpark Police who provided this information in the City of Moorpark Guide; but, I thought it was so worthwhile I wanted to relay the information here.
According to Deputy Purnell, you should be aware that scammers are targeting email accounts of realtors and escrow and title companies in order to steal your money!
So, if you are buying a home or refinancing, you should be alert to what could be happening and how to protect yourself.
- The scammer hacks into the email account of a real estate agent or escrow officer and monitors correspondence between that person and the home buyer. The scammer then creates an email that is nearly identical to the agent or officer’s email, including their writing style, logos, and signatures.
- About the time the home buyer would expect to receive instructions on how to wire the money, the scammer sends instructions to wire the money to a specified account which goes to the scammer. The agent or escrow officer is unaware this is happening
This scam targets people who are in the refinancing process and any other transactions that include the wiring of money. Here are some ways Deputy Purnell recommends for protecting yourself:
- Before you wire money, speak with the realtor/escrow officer by phone or in person to get wiring instructions and confirm the account number is legitimate.
- Do not email financial information. It isn’t secure. Many financial firms do what I do: they provide secure vault access to their clients so that documents never go through an email system.
- Look for web addresses that begin with https (the s stands for secure). Don’t click on email links that come in emails – it’s always safer to look up the website’s real URL and type in the address yourself.
- Be cautious about opening email attachments. Those files could contain malware.
- Be sure your browser and software are up to date.
Especially if you’re getting emails from someone you don’t know, never click on the link. Even when I get a link from my own bank, I never click on it. I always enter the correct URL manually to gain access.
You can set-up a spreadsheet with columns for website names, URL, ID, Username, Passwords, and security questions and answers; but, make sure you spreadsheet is password protected and not accessible to others (you may want to store the data on an external drive, or example).
Hope this helps! If you’d like to learn more about IFG, we can always visit by phone. You can click on that link (if you feel confident), or you can simply go to the IFG website and contact me through the site. www.indfin.com.
Enjoy!
Jim
Jim Lorenzen is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional and An Accredited Investment Fiduciary® serving private clients since 1991. Jim is Founding Principal of The Independent Financial Group, a registered investment advisor with clients located across the U.S.. He is also licensed for insurance as an independent agent under California license 0C00742. The Independent Financial Group does not provide legal or tax advice and nothing contained herein should be construed as securities or investment advice, nor an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment to the individual reader. The general information provided should not be acted upon without obtaining specific legal, tax, and investment advice from an appropriate licensed professional.
