Wire Fraud Warning Signs When Selling a House
2 min read · Last updated 2026-08-03 · Reviewed by Camilo Palacio, Licensed Florida Real Estate Professional (License #3280644, REALTOR®)
Real estate wire fraud costs home sellers and buyers real money every year, and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center tracks it as one of the costliest categories of internet crime it investigates. The biggest warning sign is a last-minute change to wire instructions, especially one that arrives only by email. Confirm every wire number by phone, with a number you already had, before you send a cent, no matter who is handling your closing.
| Factor | Skipping Verification | Verifying Every Wire |
|---|---|---|
| Wiring instructions | Trusting whatever email lands in the inbox, even if the account number just changed | Confirming the numbers by phone using a number already on hand, not one from the email |
| Who checks it | Handling it alone, with no second set of eyes | Looping in a trusted second person, agent, or closing coordinator before sending funds |
| Timing of the check | Verifying instructions only after something feels off | Verifying instructions before every single wire, even the fifth one in the same deal |
How Real Estate Wire Fraud Actually Works
Wire fraud in a real estate closing almost always starts with a hacked or spoofed email account. A scammer either breaks into a real estate agent's or title company's email, or sets up a lookalike address that's one letter off from the real one, then waits until closing is close. At the right moment, they send new wiring instructions that look like they came from the seller's own closing team, asking the money to go to a different account than the one actually used for the transaction. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) tracks real estate related fraud as one of the internet crime categories it reports on every year, and has repeatedly flagged it as a costly and growing threat to home sellers and buyers.
The Warning Signs to Watch For
A last-minute change to wire instructions is the single biggest red flag, and legitimate title companies almost never change account numbers mid-transaction. Other signs include an email urging urgency or secrecy, a sender address that's almost but not quite right, a request to skip the usual verification call, or instructions that arrive only in writing with no phone call to back them up. Any one of these on its own is worth a pause. More than one together is a reason to stop and verify before sending anything.
How to Verify a Wire Before You Send It
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends picking two trusted people before closing even starts, writing down their names and phone numbers, and calling one of them using a number already on hand, never one from the email with the new instructions. Confirm the routing number and account number out loud, on the phone, every time, even if it's not the first wire in the deal. Email is not a secure channel for financial details, so account numbers should never be sent or received by email as the final verification step.
Wire Fraud Warning Signs Still Apply When Selling Through Cash Flow Deals
Selling through Cash Flow Deals' novation-based process still involves a real wire, coordinated by a licensed local broker partner and a title or escrow company, and the same fraud rules apply. A seller working with Cash Flow Deals should still confirm wiring instructions by phone with the title company before sending anything, the same way they would in a traditional listing sale. No legitimate closing process, including this one, ever asks a seller to skip that verification call.
What to Do If You Already Sent a Wire to the Wrong Account
Call your bank immediately and ask for a wire recall, since banks can sometimes intercept a transfer before the receiving bank releases the funds, but only within a short window. File a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov the same day, since the agency's recovery team has frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in attempted theft by acting fast on fresh reports. Speed matters more than anything else once a fraudulent wire has already gone out.
Common questions
What's the single biggest red flag for wire fraud in a home sale?
A last-minute change to wire instructions, especially one that only arrives by email. Legitimate title and escrow companies almost never change account numbers mid-transaction, so any change is worth a phone call to verify before sending money.
Should I ever trust wiring instructions sent by email alone?
No. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends confirming every wire by phone, using a number already on hand before the email arrived, not one listed in the email itself.
Is real estate wire fraud a real risk, or a rare scare story?
It's real. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center tracks real estate related fraud as one of the internet crime categories it reports on every year and has repeatedly called it a costly, growing problem. The fix does not change from year to year: verify every wire by phone before sending money.
What should I do the moment I suspect I sent money to a scammer?
Call your bank immediately and request a wire recall, then file a complaint at ic3.gov the same day. Acting within the first hours gives the best chance of stopping or recovering the funds.