A local attorney informed me of a scam perpetrated
on his firm involving a wire transfer. I shared the horrible story with a
number of attorneys in the area, and I received numerous responses that similar
scams had been attempted at their offices. Apparently this is big problem:
After a closing, the Settlement Agent received
emails that appear to come from the Seller’s attorney and the Sellers asking
that the proceeds be wired (with wiring instructions). In one case the Sellers
had left the office with a check and the Settlement Agent received emails from
the Seller and the Seller’s attorney that they had problems depositing the
check and the check has been destroyed and requesting a wire.
The attorney was alert enough to call the Seller’s
attorney by phone, only to learn that he never sent the emails and the proceeds
check had been safely deposited. Apparently somebody had hacked the email
account of one of the parties in the transaction. The email addresses being
used to send the wiring instructions looked legitimate, but after closer
inspection it appears that one letter was different; so that hackers are fairly
sophisticated.
Somehow the hacker knew the details of the closing,
the names of the parties, the proceeds amount, etc. Very disturbing.
Some attorneys have said that they will only process
wire transfers if they have an authorization letter signed in person by the
Seller accompanied by written instructions, or similar safeguards.
Keep your eyes open and share this with your
colleagues
Paul
F. Alphen, Esquire
Alphen
& Santos, P.C.
Westford,
MA
