How to Handle Money Wire Scammers?

Please read this guide as an agent and send this link to your clients to protect them and yourself.

Here’s how you can help your clients protect their mortgage closing:

• Remind your clients if they get an email with money-wiring instructions, STOP. Email is not a secure way to send financial information. Instead:
• Advise them to contact the company through a number or email address they know is real. Don’t use phone numbers or links in the email.
• Tell them not to open email attachments, even from someone they know, unless they’re expecting it. Opening attachments can put malware on their computers.

If they’ve already sent money to a scammer, here’s how they should act quickly:

• If they wired money through their bank, ask the bank for a wire recall. If they used a money transfer company, like Western Union or MoneyGram, call their complaint lines immediately.
• Advise them to report the scam to the FTC and to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Report as soon as possible and give as much information as possible. If their bank asks for a police report, give the bank a copy of their report to ic3.gov.