Fraud on the Rise*

Fraud is on the rise! People are being followed from banks. Sellers are being impersonated. The senior population is being targeted by schemers.

Seniors

It might be helpful to have conversations with family members to establish protocols in areas of vulnerability, especially for senior family members. Here are some suggestions:

• If you have senior members in your family living independently, help them to be secure with their information:
  • Make sure they have phones with caller ID and tell them not to answer the phone if they do not know the number. If the caller leaves a voicemail and is still not sure if it’s legitimate, then another family member can check that to see if anything needs to be addressed.
  • Ask seniors to leave any mail received for another family member to review, if they are not sure of the sender or if it’s asking for money.
  • If anyone asks them over the phone to pull money out of their account, in any way, suggest they check with another family member to verify validity of the request. There is no emergency, so wait to hear from others before taking any action. Most companies are not asking people to draw money out of the account anyway, so this should be a potential red flag.
• If your family members are going to withdraw money from the bank, make sure they are discreet and check to be sure they are aware of their surroundings after leaving the bank. Or, have a trusted family member help out with this task in some manner.

Real Estate Owners or Buyers

• If you own property in Texas, it has been suggested that you check your county appraisal district websites to verify your information is accurate. If any property you own is not your primary residence, verify that the mailing address is correct. Set a reminder to check this regularly.
• If you are in the middle of a real estate transaction, be sure to check email addresses are accurate every time you communicate with a title company, lender, or realtor.
  • A recent case I heard about in the news involved a buyer losing over $100,000 to a fraudster because the criminal somehow intercepted emails from the title company and buyer, impersonating both parties. The buyer thought they were talking to the title company, and the title company thought they were talking to the buyer. In reality, they were both talking to the criminals who made their email communications look legitimate in the email (even their spelling), and down to to the correct title company signature. The only difference was the end of the email addresses was .cam instead of .com.
• It is suggested you verify wiring instructions with title companies via a secure send or in person. Before you have a wire sent, ask your bank employee to verify instructions with the title company personally, as well.

There are many stories in the news about how fraud is happening in many different ways. Just help others who might be more vulnerable to identify red flags early.

*I am not a lawyer, and this email is not meant to be construed as legal advice. These are merely suggestions for protecting yourself against the bad people in this world who lack a moral compass.