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Our story begins with an innocuous email delivered to our homebyer on June 18, which appeared to come from the lender鈥檚 office. The email informed our buyer that a representative from Paramount Title would call her to confirm receipt of the funds to close.

Someone called the buyer, but it wasn鈥檛 us. A fraudster named 鈥淛immy鈥� on the other end of the line confirmed wire instructions for a specific bank account, with the account name referencing Paramount Title, and instructed our buyer to send funds in the amount of $130,000.

Our buyer wired the funds.

The following day our buyer checked her account and saw the wire had been returned to her account. She replied to the email thread with the fraudster from the previous day asking if she knew what happened and why the funds were returned.

The fraudster told her the company鈥檚 escrow account was under its annual tax audit and that is why her funds were returned. Then he gave our buyer new wiring instructions for another bank account. Our buyer called 鈥淛immy,鈥� who confirmed the new writing instructions were correct.

Our buyer wired the funds again.

On June 20, our buyer received another email from the fraudster stating there was an issue with the wire. The fraudster asked our buyer to call her bank and request a hold be lifted off the wire. Tragically, our buyer called her bank and obtained the federal reference number for the wire.

The next day a representative from the receiving bank called to say they flagged her wire transfer and they were not going to release the funds yet because it looked suspicious.

That鈥檚 when our buyer decided to look up the title company. She then called us, the real Paramount Title, and shared her story. Our office confirmed we don鈥檛 employ anybody by the name of 鈥淛immy鈥� 鈥� and this was most definitely a case of wire fraud.

This is where Amy swoops into the picture.

Amy was quick to discuss all options for our buyer to report the crime, including offering to report the issue on her behalf. Amy contacted our US Secret Service agent (YES, we actually have a US Secret Service agent in our rolodex to help us in these 鈥渟pecial鈥� circumstances), finally reaching him at 10 o鈥檆lock at night to discuss the details of the file.

Amy wanted to see if the agent could provide any assistance on what our buyer could do to get her money back. She conferenced in our buyer, so she could speak directly with the agent. The agent then offered to call the 鈥渇raudsters鈥� bank and see how they could help. 

On June 22, thanks to Amy鈥檚 tireless efforts driven by a passion to protect, the full amount of the wire was returned to our buyer. Our buyer closed on her home two weeks later.

鈥淚 spoke with the client shortly after the ordeal was over, and she expressed to me how good it felt that someone had her back through the process,鈥� said Andrea Somers, Compliance Officer for the Florida Agency Network. 鈥淎my truly goes above and beyond in everything that she does.鈥�

But our story doesn鈥檛 end there, because Amy went above and beyond to ensure no customer of hers would ever fall victim to wire fraud again.

First, she implemented the website 鈥�,鈥� a message we now we blast everywhere we can. When we receive a new contract, our customer is informed of this very real threat. When a customer receives an email from us, they see the Inquire Before You Wire image. It doesn鈥檛 matter how small, or big, the transaction is.

She also implemented additional processes where phone calls are made to the contacts on each file, to discuss wire fraud, the current fraud trends being seen in our industry and to lay out exactly how the client will receive wire instructions. 

What鈥檚 more, Amy decided to go one step further by achieving the Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) certification. This achievement demonstrates Amy鈥檚 commitment and leadership in protecting our clients and our industry. Amy feels we have a duty to protect and serve the clients. 

Amy鈥檚 passion to protect pushes our team to uphold the same standard of care, to protect and try to prevent tragic situations involving wire fraud from occurring on our watch again. 

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But like everything else, branding practices are constantly evolving, and it鈥檚 important to stay ahead of the curve and understand what your future branding strategies should entail.

To help, here are three best-practice branding trends that need to be on your radar:

Be human: Technology is wonderful for increasing brand recognition, and you should embrace it. But don鈥檛 forego human interaction.

At a time when trust is precariously fragile, it鈥檚 vital for businesses to establish human bonds. Strive to engage with your clients beyond social media platforms and your website.

Be trustworthy problem-solvers, aim for empathy, be an expert in your field, share knowledge and insights and recognize that emotional, face-to-face communication tips the trust scale in your favor.

Be authentic and transparent: When your business opens its curtain and provides public visibility, it shows that you鈥檙e authentic and transparent.

And clients and customers rank transparency above just about everything else. In fact, a Sprout Social Report released in 2018 showed that 86 percentof Americans believe transparency from businesses is more important than ever before.

Additionally, 73 percentof consumers are willing to pay more for products that guarantee total transparency. The numbers don鈥檛 lie.

Businesses need to account for the public鈥檚 increasing demands for transparency and develop practices and processes that convey honesty and truth.

Soul is the key to content: A compelling narrative that connects with your target audience is key to telling your story, and a story without soul falls down the rabbit hole.

When creating branding content, it鈥檚 all too easy to focus solely on promoting a product or service, but falling into that formula potentially robs businesses of cultivating relationships and providing meaningful value. When you tell the story of your brand, aim to be enthusiastic, inspiring and passionate鈥攁nd don鈥檛 be afraid to show some emotion. It鈥檚 good for the soul, and it speaks to your human side.

Real Estate Corner

While global trade disputes continue to shake up the financial markets,  are holding steady.

According to the latest data released by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average dipped to 4.07 percent with an average 0.5 point.

The 15-year fixed-rate average slid to 3.53 percent with an average 0.4 point. Meanwhile, the five-year adjustable rate average inched to 3.66 percent with an average 0.4 point. 

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Intellectual property comes in many forms. Your company logo is intellectual property. So is the name of your agency, any tag lines you鈥檝e developed and consistently use to identify your company, your color schemes, if you have any 鈥� and content you鈥檝e originated, like your website鈥檚 copy.

The good news about intellectual property is that it clearly identifies and separates you from your competitors. What can be a challenge, however, is challenges to your right to use your agency鈥檚 name or logo 鈥� if another entity takes issue with the use and raises the question of your right to its use.

IP lawyers know the ins-and-outs of intellectual property, but it can be helpful to have a baseline understanding of (a) what intellectual property is; and (b) how it can benefit you and your agency. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a  dedicated to intellectual property issues.

Real Estate Corner

Who hasn鈥檛 stopped, looked up addresses (including one鈥檚 own) 鈥� to determine what a property is worth, how it compares to similar properties and whether or not professionals involved in appraisals really know what they鈥檙e doing?

As Zillow and similar sights today embrace the added option of selling a property and eliminating real estate brokers鈥� commissions, the  is a fast and furious trending topic.

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A few years ago, scammers figured out what our industry does. Admittedly, it took them a while, but when they did, many agents started seeing a barrage of fraudulent emails. Title agents responded by tightening down on their policies and procedures.

The 鈥渕ole,鈥� however, always manages to find a weak spot where he can pop his head out of the ground. In our case, that weak spot is clearly the consumer.

Ah, the consumer鈥�

When I think about the consumer in a real estate transaction, sometimes I remember a scene from a 2004 episode of the popular TV show Friends, where Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) are trying to convince Joey (Matt LeBlanc) to see the new house they鈥檙e buying in the suburbs.

Joey: 鈥淏ut no, it鈥檚 not close. You said it was in escrow? I couldn鈥檛 even find it on the map.

Chandler: 鈥淣o Joey, escrow is (pause) well, there鈥檚 money in (pause) it鈥檚 not the bank exactly (long pause) I don鈥檛 know what it is.鈥�

And of course, it鈥檚 the real estate agent who ends up explaining escrow to everyone.

A consumer buying or selling a home is excited about completing the transaction. The truth is, despite our best efforts, they鈥檙e apt to be at least a little hazy about everything going on. Consumers rely on settlement agents, real estate agents, attorneys and loan officers to make sure things go smoothly.

Fraud is likely the last thing on the consumer鈥檚 mind, but title agents are in a unique position to help consumers understand the dangers of fraud and the steps they can take to protect their funds and personal information. Here are some things to tell the consumer early and often during the transaction.

USE EXTREME CAUTION

Fraudsters are targeting buyers and sellers. Unwitting consumers have been scammed into wiring funds to fraudsters. Consumers should be wary of any email purporting to be from a closing agent or another party to the transaction that has a generic domain at the end, like 鈥済mail鈥� or 鈥渕ail.鈥�

FOLLOW PROCEDURES

Discuss your company鈥檚 procedures for accepting, verifying and changing wire instructions. Establish any pin codes or challenge questions you might use to identify the consumer.

VERIFY, VERIFY, VERIFY

If the consumer receives an email from your agency regarding wiring funds, they should verify the information by contacting your office using a pre-determined telephone number, and not a number on that email.

NO SHARING!

Discourage the consumer from sharing wiring instructions or other banking information with third parties, including the real estate agent.

NEVER WIRE FUNDS BASED ON EMAIL

Most of all, let the consumer know they should never wire funds based on an email, even if the email appears to come from the title company, the real estate agent, the bank or anyone else.

We鈥檝e developed an infographic outlining these important consumer communications, and we encourage you to find points during the transaction where it makes sense to deliver and reinforce these messages with buyers and sellers.

星空传媒 星空传媒 recently produced a white paper on escrow fraud as part of our ongoing effort to inform agents about the threats we all face. The paper provides tips for spotting suspect emails and other communications. I鈥檒l be back next week with a post exploring the steps each one of us can take when a communication just doesn鈥檛 feel right.

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