By Lisa A. Tyler
National Escrow Administrator

Two separate homebuyers involved in two separate home purchases were scammed out of a combined total of $391,500. Both homebuyers sent wire transfers to what they thought were the trust accounts of the title companies closing their transactions.

Both victims reached out to law enforcement, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Read the story entitled "WIRE scammer convicted" to find out about a person perpetrating the diverted wire transfer scam who was finally caught and brought to justice.

Absentee property owners are a cause for concern. This newsletter has described incidents where imposters have either attempted to sell (or been successful in selling) or mortgage another person's property and strip the equity from the true owner.

As a result, settlement agents and title officers nationwide are even more cautious. This issue includes a story of a red flag that an observant escrow officer in Phoenix noticed. Read "REAL ID" for more information.

The 2020 editions of Fraud Insights will contain cyber buzz articles containing new words and definitions utilized in our ever–changing technology, and the ways the technology is used to commit crimes, add efficiencies and — in some cases — create a whole new way of conducting business. In this edition learn new definitions in "ALL things 'e'."