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27 Follow Us At: @DSNewsDaily Industry Updates CERTIFID PARTNERS ADVANCES MEASURES ON VACANT PROPERTY FRAUD CertifID Inc., a provider of wire fraud protec- tion, has collaborated with federal law enforce- ment to issue an advisory on the latest wire fraud threat to real estate businesses and consumers. In recent months, an alarming increase in incidents have been reported to the company involving the listing and sale of vacant land and properties that are free of mortgage liens. ese scams involve bad actors posing as owners of these vacant lots or properties. is recent trend is just the latest in an ever-evolving landscape of scams focused on the real estate industry. Leading tactics that cyber criminals have leveraged to perpetrate these frauds include Business Email Compromise (BEC). e FBI 2022 Congressional Report on BEC and Real Estate Wire Fraud cites BEC as the leading source of victim loss reported to their Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), totaling $2.4 billion in 2021. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), home sales continued to fall for the 10th month consecutively in November. As a result, cybercrime rings have turned to new tactics to make up for the lower housing market transaction volume that they can target. Here's how these new vacant property scams work: • Public records are searched to identify real estate that is free of mortgage or other liens. ese often include vacant lots or rental properties. e identity of the land- owner is also obtained through this public records search. • Posing as the property owner, the scam- mer contacts a real estate agent to list the property for sale. All communications are through email and digital means, and not in person. • e listing price of the property is typically below current market value, to generate immediate interest in the property. • e scammer quickly accepts the offer, with preference for cash sales. • At the time of closing, the scammer refuses to sign documents in person and requests a remote notary signing. e scammer im- personates the notary and returns falsified documents to the title company or closing attorney involved in the transaction. • e title company or closing attorney transfers the closing proceeds to the scam- mer. The fraud is typically not discovered until the time of recording of transferring documents with the applicable county. Federal law enforcement has been fielding a sharp increase in victim reports on this type of vacant land fraud. e U.S. Secret Service issued an advisory describing how these scams work and what to look for. "is recent trend involving seller imper- sonation is particularly concerning, as the real property owner is typically not aware nor in a position to prevent the fraud, until it is too late," said omas W. Cronkright II, Executive Chair- man, CertifID. "Unfortunately, it's just the latest evolution of wire fraud that affects title compa- nies, law firms, lenders, Realtors, and home buyers and sellers. Our company has received hundreds of cases and helped recover over $52 million for victims in the last two years alone, by partnering with the U.S. Secret Service." CertifID safeguards billions of dollars every month from fraud with advanced software, insurance, and proven recovery services. Trusted by title companies, law firms, lenders, real estate agents, and home buyers and sellers—CertifID provides further peace of mind with up to $1mil- lion in direct coverage on every wire it protects.