Save the right contacts early.
Ask your closing professional and lender which contact numbers and verification process to use. Keep those trusted details somewhere easy to find.
Get a changed instruction? Make a separate call.
A familiar name or logo in a message doesn’t verify a payment request. Before sending funds, call your closing professional using the number you saved or verified independently. Confirm payment details and any change to them. Use that trusted number rather than a new one supplied in the message.
Keep private financial details with the right people.
Use the secure process your closing professional or lender has confirmed. Keep bank details and other sensitive financial information out of ordinary email.
What if a message says I need to act right now?
Take a moment to verify it through your established contact. Urgency is a reason to make that separate call before you send funds.
What if I think money already went to the wrong place?
Contact your bank or wire-transfer provider immediately and ask whether the transfer can be stopped or recalled. Report suspected fraud to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov.