COLUMBUS (WCMH) – Columbus REALTORS is warning consumers and real estate professionals about a wire fraud phishing scam.

The organization tells NBC4 it is aware of at least nine attempts at wire fraud locally involving residential and commercial transactions. In one instance, cyber thieves stole $1 million.

“We are hearing about these each and every day with the internet being used more and more for transactions,” said John Royer, president of Columbus REALTORS.

Criminals are hacking email accounts of consumers and real estate professionals and obtaining transaction information. They then send fraudulent wiring instructions to the buyer to send funds to a fraudulent account. Scammers are also targeting title companies, asking them to send the sellers proceeds to a bad account.

“In certain instances, it’s been sellers where proceeds and money have not shown up,” said Royer, who has worked in Columbus real estate for more than 30 years.

Here is more information from Columbus REALTORS about the wire fraud scam:

• Criminals are wording their emails exactly as those who are involved in the transaction, such as clients, realtors, lender and title reps.
• They are copying those who should be in-the-know which further makes it look real.
• Letterhead and office documents are created to look real.
• If a title company, lender or realtor is calling to verify information, even after you’ve sent legitimate wiring instructions, it’s for your safety. They aren’t making it difficult to do business.
• Don’t email financial information; it’s not secure.
• Make sure all parties involved in the transaction are aware that no financial information will be emailed, including wiring instructions.
• If you’re giving your financial information on the web, make sure the site is secure. Look for a URL that begins with https — the “s” stands for secure.
• Instead of clicking a link in an email to go to an organization’s site, look up the real URL and type in the web address yourself.
• Be cautious about opening attachments and downloading files from emails, regardless of who sent them. These files can contain malware that can weaken your computer’s security.
• Keep your operating system, browser, and security software up to date.
• If you are the victim or know of cyber-crime attempts, please call your local authorities. We would also appreciate knowing of additional instances although we don’t need specifics. We just want to be sure we are educating and informing our members.

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