Wire fraud has again surfaced in our immediate area, and if you have become complacent now is a good time to tighten up those best practices to ensure that you are doing your part to deter internet crime.

Locally, email hacking is again happening. The most recent occurrence followed the same pattern as in the past, a hacker pretended to be the closing agent and sent the buyer fraudulent wiring instructions. The agent involved shared a stern reminder, "...these emails look very legitimate and can easily fool almost anyone, especially when they are only sent to the buyer who most likely, is not familiar with email hacking and fraudulent wiring instructions. I think everyone should be reminded to communicate this to their buyers."

According to the Internet Crime Report for 2020, real estate-related losses remained steady at over $213 million.

Kansas ranked at the 34^th state overall with internet crime losses in excess of $19 million, reported by over 3,400 victims.

Visit the NAR.REALTOR for helpful information on what you can do to deter, recognize, or respond to wire fraud in real estate.