DS News

56 C O V E R S T O R Y / M I K E A L B A N E S E In 1964, Bob Dylan famously sang the lyrics, "Oh, the times they are a-changin." While Dylan's melodramatic anthem focused on the shifting American societal landscape during that turbulent decade, the title industry is currently undergoing its own era of change in the 21st century. e needs of consumers are changing, new demographics have entered the housing market, tech continues to alter the landscape, and the title industry is left to try and keep pace. DS News spoke to an array of title professionals about the state of the industry, how it can best leverage technology, and what challenges await as 2020 closes in. PROTECTING YOUR PRIVACY e rise of technology undoubtedly has its positives and negatives. While the advancements have helped streamline insurance processes, they have also opened up new avenues for fraud and theft. Cynthia Durham Blair NTP, Co-owner of Blair, Cato, Pickren, Casterline, LLC, pointed to the American Land Title Association's (ALTA's) establishment of the Coalition to Stop Real Estate Wire Fraud. e group, Blair said, is dedicated to raising awareness and educating not only homebuyers, but also everyone else involved in the process of securing a loan or buying a home. "We want to help people prevent the risk of wire fraud, and empower those who have been victimized in a fraud like this to come forward with their stories," Blair said. "e best way for us to raise awareness is for the unfortunate victims to come forward and be public about their stories, so people know that it happens. It's not discriminatory about where it happens or to whom it happens. It happens all over the country, on both large and small transactions." In July, a bipartisan group of 33 senators, led by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), signed a letter questioning Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on the efforts being taken by the Fed to curb wire fraud. e letter sent to Powell's office stated that between 2015 and 2017, the FBI reported an 1,100% increase in the volume of "real estate related email compromise scams." Funds lost associated with these scams grew 2,220%. Moran's letter further pointed out that, within the 2017 fiscal year, the FBI reported that $969 million was "diverted or attempted to be diverted" from real estate purchases to "criminally controlled" accounts, which is an increase from just $19 million the year prior. "ere's an increasing problem of wire fraud through business email compromise and email account compromise. We also need to make sure that the Fed is doing something about it, and that Congress is aware," Blair said. Education of the homebuyer, according THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA FOR TITLE

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