Risks to Watch Out for After Closing

So you closed on your new home — congratulations! You got through the hard part. Now get to enjoy the benefits of homeownership. After closing, it’s important to be cautious of email scammers, who may pose as your mortgage lender, real estate agent, or title company. Scam emails can target all types of people, but many hackers specifically target recent home buyers. These emails may be hard to identify as a scam, and are very believable and convincing. They often look like the real deal, with formatting, graphics, and signatures identical to those of your contacts.

What should I look for?

The hacker will usually send you an email saying something like “a last minute issue came up with your payment” or “there has been a change in wiring instructions.” Beware of messages like this. The email may further instruct you to wire funds to a specific account. If you were to fall for the scam, the hacker could clean out your bank account in just a few minutes. Scammers can also create fake email accounts that look like they’re coming from the real person, with email addresses that may be off by just one letter or symbol. If you’ve recently closed or are about to close on a home and receive instructions for money-wiring, stop. Email is not a secure way to send money and this may be a scam. If you receive an email from one of your agents or contacts that you suspect may be a scam, call that person and ask if they sent you the email. Be sure you don’t use the contact’s details provided in the “scam” email to contact them. Look up the phone number or email address you used to communicate with them in the past and use that.

Don't click on links or allow remote access

If you think an email may be from a scammer, do not click on any links or open attachments they may provide. Even if the attachment seems legitimate, these items may contain viruses that give the hacker information or access to your computer. Computer access may allow a hacker to access your passwords, pin numbers, and accounts. Immediately delete any suspicious message that contains links or attachments unless you’ve verified that they’re actually from the source of the email. Additionally, your mortgage lender, agent, or title company should not be asking for remote access to your computer, so be wary if the email asks for this.

Keep your personal information secure

In general, it’s a good idea to keep your personal information secure. Scammers can use personal information to contact you, or to hack your specific accounts. Be sure that you shred documents that have personal information on them, like your social security number and bank account information. Hackers could easily pull these documents from your trash if they’re not disposed of properly. If you have your passwords and pin numbers all written down in one spot or saved in your computer, make sure that document is hidden or password protected. Always make sure your computer, phone, etc. is password protected. Additionally, make sure your passwords are not easy to guess and be sure to update them on a regular basis. As cute as your dog is, “Tucker123” is probably not a safe option for a password. It’s also a good idea not to have the same password for multiple accounts, that makes it easier to hack.

A good password should contain a mix of numbers, capital and lowercase, numbers, and symbols.

You should also make sure your WiFi is password protected and be sure not to access private information on your computer if you’re on a public WiFi network, like at Starbucks.

What to do if you fall for a scam

If you think you’ve wired money as the result of a scam email, immediately contact your bank to stop the transaction or freeze your account. If you used a money wiring service, call their customer service or complaint line and report the transaction. If you gave the scammer personal information,report it to the FTC, where you can also find more information on identity theft. You can also report the scam to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Give them as much information about the scam as you have about the crime. It’s important that you’re educated on what to look for when it comes fake emails, and that you take the necessary precautions to protect your account from getting hacked. The more prepared you are, the better protected you will be from falling for a scam.