Tag: Cyber Security

Closings with Karissa: Security & Real Estate Transactions

Real estate fraud is alive and well as fraudsters find new ways to cheat people out of their money. Whether it be through fraudulent emails or posing as a realtor and calling clients to get them to send money. Title companies, banks and realtors strive to protect buyers’ and sellers’ money as if it was their own money. It is our job to protect our clients and ensure a smooth closing process for everyone. We were asked recently what we do to protect our clients’ sensitive information and protect their assets.  We take this very seriously and want to share a few ways we do this.

ID Verification

When Sellers come to our office to sign documents to sell real estate, we check photo identification. We ensure the party “selling” is in fact the party in title and not a fraudster claiming real estate as their own.

Remote Online Notarization (RON)

Believe it or not, signing documents through a RON environment is more secure than signing in person. Signers must submit their photo ID while on a live audio-visual session, like in person.  But they also answer KBA (Knowledge-based authentication) questions to verify their identity. We simply do not have that kind of capability in person and this adds an extra layer of identity verification.

Secure Wire Instructions

We work with CertifID to send and verify wire instructions. It takes a little extra time to verify your identity and banking information with this process. However, we do this to guarantee funds are getting to where they are supposed to be instead of being sent to a fraudsters personal account.

Earnnest

“You spelled that wrong.”

We hear this a lot, however, I assure you we know how to spell. Earnnest is a payment portal we use to request earnest money from our clients to satisfy the terms of the contract. It works a lot like Cash App or Venmo, is secure, and the Earnest Money goes straight from the buyers bank account to ours. We simply send your buyer a link to our custom payment portal and they complete payment.  This reduces the need to navigate wire instructions and the possibility for human error. There is also a cost savings over cost of sending a wire, in most cases.

E-Signature Platforms

Our office utilizes Dotloop and HelloSign to get documents to clients securely. We can send view only documents or we can send documents with a request for information and signatures. This eliminates the requirement for password protecting a PDF in email and still applies the security necessary to protect sensitive information.

Password Protected

If our office does send out sensitive information via email, we will always password protect it to secure information that is not public knowledge, such as settlement statements. At any time, a fraudster could be hanging out in your email and open attachments that are not secured to see what the proceeds would be for a transaction, then reach out to you with bad wire instructions requesting you send your hard-earned money to then instead of to the title company for your transaction.

Why?

Wire fraud and other forms of cybercrime in the real estate sector resulted in $350 million in losses in 2021, up from $213 million in 2020. While only 12,000 people a year are victims, one in three real estate transactions is a target. This is why we remain vigilant in our own practices and in our efforts to educate our clients.[1]

A staggering 35% of fraud attempts reported in 2021 were traced back to email. If you suspect a fraudulent email was sent to you, do not respond to it, click any links, or open its attachments. Reach out to your realtor, title company, lender, client using known information from a source outside of the email. Stay tuned for a follow-up blog on email security tips!

We are here to answer any questions you may have, protect your information, and help make your closing experience as smooth as possible.

[1] https://blog.alta.org/2022/03/cyber-losses-hit-69b-in-2021.html

Early Deed Packets = Smooth Closings!

We have a saying in our office: “early deed packets means smooth closings!” But why would a few signed documents mean closing would run smoother? The more information we receive ahead of closing allows our closing team to gather any additional information we may need well in advance.  An early and complete deed packet allows us to balance with your client’s lender and get final numbers out for buyers in cash transactions. That way, when the day of closing comes around finalizing the transaction is a smooth process, leaving more time for celebration and little to no concern about whether things will fall into place.

Deed Packets contain several documents that consolidate much of the information we will need prior to closing.  This includes a form that allows us to contact the Seller’s current mortgage holder to obtain a payoff. This is especially important right now with many mortgage companies experiencing staffing shortages with extended processing times.  Oftentimes, it can take up to 20 days to get payoffs returned to us.

Early deed packets also allow us to deliver early settlement statements to you and your clients.  This gives plenty time for review and provides a clear picture of what the closing day will look like on the financial end of the transaction.

Additionally, some expenses will not be clear to us until we have the deed packet returned, including information about Homeowners Associations.  Having information about a property’s HOA membership in advance allows us to ensure that prorations are applied appropriately at closing.

This early document package also contains important information about email fraud and wire fraud. We want to help protect your client’s money just as much as you do.  This information is available to all of our clients in order to inform them of the dangers of spam emails and the possibility of fraudsters intercepting wires. Likewise, we include information about how we protect our clients from theft with CertifID.  We use CertifID to send or verify wiring instructions prior to the day of closing.

We understand sometimes coordinating a deed packet signing can be an issue as schedules vary.  Your clients are more than welcome to come to either of our offices Monday through Friday during business hours and we would be happy to walk through the deed packet with them. Alternatively, we offer free courier service and would be happy to meet your clients at a convenient location in Manhattan, Wamego, Alma, and Westmoreland.

Should you have any questions about the contents of a deed packet, feel free to contact one of our real estate professionals to assist you through the process.  It’s our pleasure to assist you!

Are you Ready2Close?

We are happy to introduce the newest member of the Tallgrass Title closing toolkit: Ready2Close! Ready2Close is a plug-in to our title software that will work alongside PaperlessCloser and allows buyers or sellers to follow along with the progress of their transaction, from start to finish!
We will continue to use PaperlessCloser as the primary platform for realtors, lenders, attorneys, and admins to stay engaged with the transaction while Ready2Close will function as an additional piece that is both mobile and consumer friendly.

What does it do?

At your request, we will invite your buyer or seller to Ready2Close. Once in, they will see a photo from Google Maps of the property associated with the transaction. Users will also find a Milestone tracker showing the progress of their transaction. Just like ordering a pizza! 😉

Once the user clicks View Details, they will be directed to the other components of Ready2Close. Within Ready2Close, they can do the following:

  • Upload documents to be shared with Tallgrass Title, through a secure platform
  • Access details about their transaction including closing location, date, and time and contact information for their realtor, lender, and closing agent
  • Securely locate wiring instructions
  • Review and e-sign documents

Mobile Access

Ready2Close provides your buyer or seller with the ability to view transaction documents, e-sign, and obtain other details necessary for closing from their mobile device. While designed with the consumer in mind, realtors and other agents associated with the transaction can view all of their current files from one log-in and access requested documents in a mobile-friendly environment.

Security

Users must be invited by Tallgrass Title to create a Ready2Close account and to obtain access to a file.  Much like PaperlessCloser, we will identify which parties will be able to access specific information and will continue to protect your client’s non-public personal information. Your personal and your clients’ log-ins for Ready2Close will be protected by two-factor authentication.

What about PaperlessCloser?

Think of Ready2Close as buyer or seller’s PaperlessCloser. PC isn’t going anywhere, and we hope to harness both of these tools in sync to create ease and transparency in your transactions. If you’d like to give Ready2Close a shot on your next transaction, let us know and we’d be happy to invite both you and your client; you may find that you’d prefer to continue using PaperlessCloser exclusively or you might find you enjoy the mobile access and simplicity of Ready2Close. Or any combination of options. 😊

For Sale By Owner

If you’re a seller or buyer representing yourself, Ready2Close is the best way to stay in sync with the title company and up to date on all stages of your transaction. Give us a call and ask to be invited to Ready2Close on your transaction!

The team at Tallgrass Title is looking forward to providing a more transparent closing experience for the customer and we believe that Ready2Close is the next right step for making that happen.  Notifications will be sent whenever there is a status change to the file and clients have the option to opt out at any time.

If electronic document sharing and signing does not appeal to a party involved in your transaction, we are happy to continue to offer our free courier and mobile notary services. We will continue to do whatever we can to cater transactions to the unique needs of all parties involved.

Combating Current Trends in Wire Fraud

By now most of you are probably familiar with the idea of scammers trying to steal buyers’ purchase funds. Since that amount is usually several thousands of dollars it makes sense that thieves would be interested in it. It ends up being a decent-sized reward for very little effort and risk.

Recently, we were made aware of a different twist in the wire fraud trend. Lately, title companies have started seeing scammers go after earnest money deposits. Even though the amount is relatively small, multiple thefts can add up to a nice paycheck.

How do they do it? A scammer hacks into a realtor’s or a closing agent’s email and waits. Pretty soon he (or she) starts seeing messages about a sale transaction. He emails the buyer posing as the realtor or title agent with wire instructions for their earnest deposit. The contract is signed and the buyer follows the scammer’s instructions not knowing he has been scammed. Eventually someone notices that the earnest money never was deposited, but it is usually too late to stop the funds from going to the wrong place. Unfortunately, the amount is so small that it might be virtually untraceable as well.

Here are a couple of ways to help reduce the risk of it happening to your clients:

Educate your clients! As soon as a potential client contacts you, begin arming them with the tools they can use to protect themselves. Sure, you don’t want to freak anybody out, but go ahead and warn them about the potential risk and what you will do to help keep them safe. Have them read and sign wire fraud information sheets as they sign their initial offer. Explain to them that you will NEVER, EVER email them about wire information. Go ahead and give your clients the confirmed contact information of the title company they will be using so they can confirm any wire information being sent to them.

Make sure your email is secure. Do not use a free email service. No matter how annoying it is to do it, change your password often! Send all documents relating to a transaction securely. If you think about it, a contract has names, money amounts, closing date, and contact info for some of the parties. It’s a goldmine of information for any scammer who may have managed to hack into your email. So send those documents through secure portals to keep everybody safe.

Help keep funds secure. Encourage your clients to use the secure programs offered by title companies, including CertifID for wire instructions and Earnnest for digital funds transfers.

The bottom line is we must respect every transfer of funds and work to protect those funds. If we don’t try to do anything about wire fraud, or think that it only happens to someone else, we are letting criminals have their way. A small action on our part could spike a scammers gun.

How to Securely Share Documents to Paperless Closer

With email fraud at an all-time high, it is highly important that any information shared with your title company be transferred securely.  In addition to password protecting emailed documents, the Paperless Closer technology utilized by Tallgrass Title allows for you to securely upload documents to our system.  The process is simple, secure and live in our system as soon as the document is uploaded.  Utilizing this platform is an easy alternative to emailing documents that may possibly contain Non-public Personal Information.  We will have immediate access as soon as you complete the process below.

When you upload a document to Paperless Closer, the system automatically restricts access to it.  No one other than the admin for that Paperless Closer (the title company) can change the restrictions and allow others to access the documents.

If you have never uploaded a document to Paperless Closer before, here is how you do it.

STEP 1: Click on the Add Document Button at the bottom

STEP 2: Click on Choose File to browse and locate the document you would like to upload.

STEP 3: Make sure you name your document in the Description Box. Then hit the Save button.

STEP 4: Once you have saved the Document will appear in the Document Tab List along with any other Documents you have permission to view.

Documents will also be available to us on our system right away.

Paperless Closer requires that the user has a login ID and password.  If you do not have an account, call or email and we will set up login information for you.  Once you have access, you will need specific permission for each file you would like to view.  Finally, uploaded documents are restricted until permission for access to any document is granted.  Every layer is one more way that the client (Buyer, Seller, Realtor, Lender) is protected.

Paperless Closer functions in real time.  This means that as soon as a document is uploaded, anyone with permission can access it.

Additionally, the document can be uploaded securely to this portal from anywhere in the world.  This means that you can upload a contract without delivering to our office.  More and more, folks are uploading their new contracts and requesting our free courier to pick up an earnest money check.  In this scenario, you never have to leave your office or home!

At Tallgrass Title we take our clients’ security seriously.  If you have any questions or need some help with your Paperless Closer, we are only a phone call away!