The Importance of Educating Yourself on Real Estate Fraud

By Misty Darling

Professional service with an emphasis on guidance, planning, and dedication to my clients’ needs are my top priority.

A recent survey caught my attention, and I think it’s a must to discuss it here. We’ve touched on this topic before, but perhaps not enough: the large amount of fraud that can happen during a real estate transaction. The 2024 State of Wire Fraud study by Certified ID revealed some startling statistics. According to the survey, 71% of consumers felt they didn’t receive enough education about the potential for fraud during the home-buying process and believed it was someone else’s responsibility to inform them.

I want to take this opportunity to emphasize how serious this issue is. Last year, there was a significant increase in scams, with one in four consumers reporting they were targeted by fraud attempts during the real estate closing process. Here’s how it typically happens: scammers send fraudulent communications that appear to be from the real estate agent, mortgage professional, or settlement agent involved in the transaction. These scammers then try to trick consumers into wiring money to them, claiming it’s part of the closing process when it has nothing to do with it.

In Central Iowa, we’ve seen that closing settlement agencies or attorneys’ offices are very strict about not allowing wires as part of a transaction due to the high rate of fraud. When wires are allowed, extreme measures are taken to confirm the identity of the recipient. The reason this type of fraud is so prevalent is that real estate transactions involve a lot of publicly available data about property listings and numerous parties who are privy to the transaction details, including real estate agents, brokers, lenders, title companies, and appraisers.

This extensive involvement and the abundance of information make it easier for scammers to exploit the situation. That’s why it’s more important than ever to hire a real estate professional you can trust. If you’re looking for a reliable team, call Misty at 515-575-9950. We have an entire department dedicated to handling the back end of real estate transactions, ensuring all the paperwork and complex details are managed securely. This allows our forward-facing agents to focus on what they do best: showing you homes and getting to know your needs.