It all started with an email. Just days before closing on a home, I got a message from my escrow officer-or at least someone pretending to be her. Our closing costs needed to be wired to the title company right away, she said, or our closing date would be pushed back.

Considering the six weeks I’d spent waiting to close on the property-not to mention the disdain I had for our current rental home-the message sent my heart racing.

The font was right. The signature was right. There was even a CC to my real estate agent. But something seemed off.

A closer look at the header revealed the problem. Each email address-one for my agent, one my mortgage broker and one for my escrow officer-was a single character off.

It was a fake…. and it happens all the time. Click HERE to read on.