Title insurance covers the deed.
Nothing covers the wire.
Recorded title, escrowed deposits and attorney representation make a US purchase unusually safe. One exposure sits outside all of it, and overseas buyers are targeted disproportionately.
Before you read on
- General information as of August 2026. This is a procedure, not legal advice — follow your attorney's instructions for your own transaction.
- If you believe funds have been misdirected, contact your bank and the receiving bank immediately. Recovery depends almost entirely on speed.
- No legitimate professional is ever annoyed by a verification call. Anyone who is, is the reason to make it.
Point 1What the protections do and do not cover
Four structural protections sit under a US purchase. None of them addresses a payment you authorised to the wrong account.
| Risk | What protects you | Residual exposure |
|---|---|---|
| Seller does not own the property | Title search and title insurance | Very low |
| Undisclosed lien or judgment | Title insurance | Very low |
| Seller keeps the deposit | Attorney escrow | Low |
| Unfavourable contract terms | Your own attorney | Low if represented |
| Hidden building finances | Statements, minutes, reserves | Moderate — diligence dependent |
| Funds wired to a criminal | Verification procedure only | High if procedure skipped |
The last row is the one that is not insured, not escrowed and rarely recovered.
The reason is mechanical rather than legal. Title insurance underwrites the accuracy of the ownership record. Escrow protects money held by a party under instruction. A wire you sent voluntarily to an account you were told to use falls outside both, and international transfers are harder to recall than domestic ones.
Point 2How the fraud actually works
It arrives from an address one character different from your attorney's, references the correct property and closing date, and explains the change plausibly — a bank switch, an audit, an account under review.
Revised instructions arrive shortly before funds move, when the buyer is focused on completion and least likely to pause.
Any message combining new account details with time pressure should be treated as fraudulent until a voice on a known number says otherwise.
Verification calls are inconvenient across time zones, and international wires are harder to recall once sent.
Criminals frequently monitor publicly available transaction information rather than breaching anyone's systems. Assume the closing date is known.
If it happens, contact both banks immediately. The window in which funds can be frozen is measured in hours, not days.
Point 3The procedure that prevents it
Four habits, none of which costs anything, and all of which have to be agreed before the closing week.
Never accept wire instructions by email. Call your attorney on a number you already had — from their letterhead or your own earlier correspondence, never from the email in question — and confirm the account details verbally, digit by digit.
Agree the instructions at the start. Establish the account at engagement and put in writing that it will never change. Then any change request is self-evidently suspect rather than a judgement call under pressure.
Send a test transfer first. Move a small amount, confirm receipt by phone, then send the balance. The delay is a day; the protection is total.
Build the call into the schedule. For a buyer eight or thirteen hours away, the verification call needs a slot in the calendar rather than a hope that someone is awake. This is the step that gets skipped, and skipping it is the whole risk.
Point 4What else to protect at the same time
Every US closing verifies the source of funds under anti-money-laundering obligations. That is routine and unrelated to fraud, but it produces the same practical requirement: documentation assembled early. Where the money came from — a business sale, an inheritance, accumulated income, another property — should be evidenced before anyone asks.
Confirm your bank’s daily transfer limits well ahead of the closing date. A seven-figure payment frequently exceeds standard limits and requires advance arrangement, which is solvable in a week and unsolvable on closing morning.
No. Title insurance protects against defects in the ownership record — liens, forged deeds, boundary errors. A misdirected wire is outside its scope.
Sometimes, if reported within hours. Contact your bank and the receiving bank immediately. Recovery rates fall sharply with delay, and international transfers are harder to recall.
Use a number you obtained before the transaction began — from the firm's letterhead, their website you visited earlier, or your own earlier correspondence. Never a number in the email requesting the change.
Common enough that US closing professionals now issue standing warnings about it, and common enough that it is the single largest uninsured risk in an otherwise well-protected transaction.
Yes. Time zones make verification calls inconvenient, international wires are harder to recall, and the buyer is rarely physically present to notice anything unusual.
Assume the message is fraudulent, then call them on your known number to confirm. Genuine professionals expect this and are never offended by it.
RELATED GUIDES
Let’s talk first
We build wire verification into every closing we coordinate. If you are moving funds for a purchase, talk to us before you send anything.
Important notice
The figures on this page are general information as of August 2026 and do not represent an offer, a quote, or a guarantee of any transaction terms. Reinvent NY does not provide legal, tax, or investment advice. Confirm anything material with an attorney and a CPA before you act on it. Nothing here is a solicitation to invest, and no return is promised. Real estate brokerage services are provided through R New York.