The dangerous message is not always badly written. It may arrive inside what looks like a familiar closing conversation and use the correct property or transaction details. Build your verification process before the stressful part of closing, when an urgent request can feel easier to obey than to question.
Create a trusted-contact card early
The CFPB's closing-scam guidance recommends establishing trusted real estate and settlement contacts and confirming instructions through previously agreed contact information. Do not use a new phone number supplied in the same suspicious payment message to verify that message.
For your private card, record the settlement company's identity, your known contact, independently confirmed telephone number, your bank's fraud contact and the agreed secure channel. Store it where you can access it without reopening the email requesting payment. Do not post the card, account details or closing documents on social media or upload them through a general website form.
Use a deliberate stop point
Make a personal rule that nobody in your household sends closing funds while multitasking, driving or responding to pressure. Set aside time to verify and ask the closing professional how receipt will be confirmed. This is a practical routine, not a guarantee that fraud cannot occur.
- Before initiating: call the settlement contact using the independently established number and follow that professional's verification procedure.
- For any change: pause. Ask the known contact to explain and independently confirm the change rather than replying to the requesting message.
- If you cannot verify: do not substitute urgency, a recognizable logo or an incoming caller's confidence for confirmation.
- After initiating: follow the bank and settlement company's agreed receipt-check process. Keep the bank reference securely.
The FBI's business email compromise guidance explains how look-alike addresses and compromised legitimate conversations can create convincing requests. It recommends verification through previously known numbers and an additional confirmation step for payment changes. A message looking familiar is not enough.
Rehearse the awkward scenario
Imagine a message arrives shortly before your appointment saying the bank information changed and you must send immediately. Your planned response is simple: stop, use your contact card and tell your transaction team there is an unverified instruction. You do not have to accuse anyone of a crime to insist on verification.
If two people in your household can move money, agree on one payer and one review process. Avoid a situation where each assumes the other already checked. If you are selling and providing disbursement instructions, ask the settlement company for its secure verification procedure as well.
If money may have gone to the wrong place
Contact your bank or transfer provider immediately, explain the suspected fraud and ask about stopping or recalling the transfer. Notify the legitimate settlement company through your known contact. The CFPB and FBI direct victims to report to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. Recovery is not guaranteed; speed matters.
Keep the messages, transfer reference and a timeline for your bank and investigators. Do not send additional money to someone promising an unofficial recovery. Mo can help coordinate the legitimate transaction contacts, but your bank and law enforcement handle the incident. Read the closing timeline guide for ordinary planning; this safety checklist should sit beside it, not be left until the last day.