Wire Fraud continues to plague consumers. It is important to pay VERY close attention before blindly sending funds.
As a company we have noticed many attempts to outright steal our clients money and recently observed it to happen at a greater frequency.
I have always told my clients to verify with
their settlement agent any wire instructions. I even hesitate to use that word in an email as it seems to be the trigger for the bad guys to go after buyers.
On our side here is what we say: (your can replace Homebridge with "your lender")
- That a Homebridge Associate will NEVER request a wire from you or change the destination of a wire.
- That a Homebridge associate will NEVER ask you for bank account and routing numbers for the purposes of initiating a wire or on behalf of a settlement agent
- That if anyone from Homebridge asks for this information, they should reach out to us directly to validate the request.
If you receive an email from your lender asking for a wire, DON'T DO IT. Lenders send the money to closing, we rarely receive funds for a Real Estate transaction.
Any email with wire instructions- be cynical.. Just do not believe it. Pick up your phone and call someone you have already spoken to to confirm it. I have seen some pretty convincing emails with ghosted email addresses or slightly different email addresses that can easily be overlooked when you are in a rush. Remember:
STOP Call Verify
Thankfully I have not had one of my clients fall for this, but I have had a few that received fraudulent emails. One even had everyone's name in it, including mine.. but all the emails were ghosted.
Buyer Beware!! Its much better to spend a few extra minutes to slow down and triple check before blindly sending tens of thousands of dollars blindly.
I’d be happy to put my 30+ years of experience to work for you and your clients
Robert Rauf
Mortgage Loan Originator NMLS# 248937
http://www.homebridge.com/RobertRauf
or my blog: http://activerain.com/blogs/rrauf
Office: (732)908-4868 Cell (732)740-0175
RRauf@HomeBridge.com
www.RobertRauf.com
Since 1987 I have been helping my clients fulfill their dream of home ownership! HomeBridge Financial Services, Formerly REMN, HomeBridge Financial Services is located at 9 Grand Ave, Building 2 Suite A Toms River, NJ 08753. NMLS #6521. New Jersey Licensed Lender and Mortgage Banker #L041053. Visit www.Homebridge.com or www.RobertRauf.com for more information. NJ Mortgages, New Jersey Mortgages, Mortgages in NJ, mortgage in New Jersey, Mortgages in New Jersey, Toms River NJ 08753, Toms River NJ 08755, Brick NJ 08723, Brick NJ 08724 Mortgage in Ocean County NJ, Mortgage in Monmouth County NJ, Jackson NJ 08527, Howell NJ 07731, Lacey 08731 08734, Beachwood 08722 Bayville 08721,
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