The threat of wire fraud is on the rise within the title industry, as hackers employ increasingly sophisticated methods to deceive both companies and customers into transferring funds to fraudulent accounts. To address this pressing issue, ALTA organized a webinar featuring insights from experts Tom Cronkright and Matt McBride. In this webinar, they delved into the current landscape of wire fraud and shared invaluable tips for its prevention.
The discussion centered around the tactics hackers utilize, including phishing emails, social engineering, and malware attacks. These cybercriminals adeptly imitate legitimate sources, leading recipients to disclose sensitive information or inadvertently download malicious software onto their systems.
Cronkright and McBride meticulously outlined a range of scams, such as impersonating sellers of unoccupied properties and falsified mortgage payoffs. To thwart these schemes, they recommended practical safeguards like authenticating wire transfer instructions through reliable channels, enforcing multifactor authentication, educating staff about recognizing fraudulent activities and setting up secure email platforms complete with encryption.
In addition to established tactics, the experts shed light on emerging strategies, such as call-back spoofing, AI-generated attack emails, AI-fueled voice replication (deepfake), influence bots leveraging open-source intelligence, and SIM swap attacks capitalizing on vulnerabilities in SS7 networks.
ALTA’s collaborative efforts with the FBI were highlighted, illustrating a dedicated initiative to identify and dismantle the operations of wrongdoers. These combined endeavors are geared toward shielding both title companies and clients from the financial setbacks inflicted by wire fraud.
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