Realty Executives, FBI and NAR team up to help stop wire fraud
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (PRWEB) January 19, 2018 -- Scammers have begun aggressively focusing on real estate in a serious phishing scam that has resulted in losses of hundreds of millions of dollars and devastating results for those in the process of purchasing a home. Unfortunately, the general public is largely unaware of this potential threat. So now, Realty Executives is teaming up with the FBI and National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) to help educate the industry on how to identify and help clients avoid falling prey to these potentially catastrophic scams with a free webinar on January 26 at 11 am CT.
The way this scam works is hackers target email and other accounts with messages relating to real estate activities, collecting contacts/email address of those in the process of buying a property. The scammer then spoofs an email to the buyer, often pretending to be an agent, title company, etc., directing them on where to wire their down payment. For those unfortunate buyers who follow through, they are out their down payment with little chance of ever getting it back.
“We believe the way to stop these scammers in their tracks is by educating clients to identify, avoid and report potential fraud,” says Alysia Heun, Vice President, Franchise Services at Realty Executives International. “By raising awareness in the real estate industry on how these scams are being carried out, we can create a united front fighting against and work to shut down this devastating trend.”
Realty Executives will be holding a free webinar, co-hosted by a member of the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force and the General Counsel for NAR, which is open to all real estate professionals. The sole focus of this seminar is to equip those within the real estate industry with the information necessary to help clients avoid these types of scams. Anyone interested in attending this webinar can sign up at http://www.realtyexecutives.com/fraudwebinar. Realty Executives has also compiled a list of the top three things buyers can do to help prevent wire fraud at http://www.realtyexecutives.com/blog/preventing-wire-fraud.
About Realty Executives Intl. Svcs. LLC
Established in 1965, Realty Executives International is one of the largest and most established real estate franchise systems in the world, with over 8,000 agents and 500 offices globally. The company offers disruptive pricing models particularly attractive to top performing agents. Its unrivaled mobile technology, business tools, training and concierge service are coupled with protected territories and financing for qualified franchisees. The Scottsdale-based, privately held company has been ranked as a leader in the real estate industry by publications like Entrepreneur, Success and Inc. magazines. For additional company information visit https://www.RealtyExecutives.com.
Melissa Marchwick, Realty Executives, http://www.realtyexecutives.com, 310-684-2681, [email protected]
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