Wire fraud in real estate transactions has become one of the fastest-growing financial crimes affecting homebuyers across Roseville, Sacramento, and Placer County. Criminals are targeting buyers during escrow by sending fake wire instructions designed to steal down payments and closing funds, often just days before closing. According to recent FBI data, hundreds of millions of dollars are lost every year to real estate wire fraud scams.

I’m Amy DeBusk, Branch Manager at loanDepot and Certified Mortgage Planner (NMLS #281056), and for more than 25 years I have helped homebuyers throughout Roseville, Sacramento, Rocklin, Lincoln, and Placer County navigate the mortgage process safely and confidently.

After reviewing the alarming rise in wire fraud cases tied to real estate closings, I wanted to create a guide that helps California homebuyers understand exactly how these scams work, the warning signs to watch for, and the steps you should take to protect your down payment and financial future before wiring any money during a real estate transaction.

Why Real Estate Transactions Are Prime Targets

Real estate transactions are prime targets for wire fraud because they involve large sums of money, multiple parties, and strict deadlines. Buyers, lenders, title companies, escrow officers, agents, and attorneys all communicate throughout the process, creating opportunities for criminals to exploit confusion and urgency.

Cybercriminals often gain access to email accounts or impersonate trusted professionals to send fraudulent wiring instructions just before closing, when buyers are under the most pressure to act quickly.

According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), business email compromise scams tied to real estate transactions result in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses each year, with individual victims often losing more than $100,000. In high priced markets like Roseville and Sacramento, where average home prices range from $550,000 to $658,000, a single fraudulent wire transfer can erase a buyer’s entire down payment or life savings.

Why Roseville & Sacramento Homebuyers Are Targets

Homebuyers in Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, Sacramento, and Placer County are especially vulnerable to wire fraud because of rising home prices and larger down payment amounts. Many buyers are combining savings with assistance programs and gift funds during closing.

As California real estate values continue to increase, criminals are targeting higher-value transactions where a single fraudulent wire can result in the loss of tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Many first-time buyers are wiring money for the first time and may not realize how sophisticated modern escrow and title fraud scams have become. For buyers still learning how escrow, title, and closing work together, understanding the full homebuying process early can help prevent costly mistakes later.

How the Scam Typically Works

Real estate wire fraud is highly organized and carefully timed. Criminals often spend days or even weeks monitoring conversations between buyers, agents, lenders, and escrow officers before making their move. Understanding how these scams work can help you recognize warning signs before it is too late.

Step 1 — Reconnaissance:

Hackers gain access to email accounts connected to the transaction, often through phishing emails, weak passwords, or compromised devices. Once inside, they quietly monitor conversations between buyers, real estate agents, lenders, title companies, and escrow officers. Their goal is to identify key dates, closing timelines, and when wiring instructions are expected to be sent.

Step 2 — Impersonation:

After gathering enough information, the scammer creates a fake email address designed to look almost identical to a legitimate contact involved in the transaction. In many cases, the difference is so subtle most people would never notice it at first glance, such as changing a single letter or using a slightly altered domain name.

Step 3 — The Hook:

At the most stressful point in the transaction, usually right before closing, the buyer receives an urgent email containing “updated” wiring instructions. The message often appears polished and professional, using real names, signatures, logos, and transaction details copied from previous emails. Scammers commonly claim there was a last minute banking issue or account change and pressure the buyer to act quickly.

Step 4 — The Wire Transfer:

Believing the instructions are legitimate, the buyer sends the funds directly to the fraudulent account. In many cases, the money is transferred through multiple accounts or moved overseas within hours, making recovery extremely difficult.

Step 5 — The Discovery:

The fraud is often discovered only after the legitimate escrow officer follows up asking why the wire payment has not arrived. By that point, the funds may already be gone. Because wire transfers move quickly and are often irreversible, victims frequently face major financial losses with limited recovery options.

Red Flags to Watch For

Train yourself and your family to spot these warning signs immediately.

• Last-minute changes to wiring instructions, especially within 24–48 hours of closing
• Urgent or pressuring language (“Wire today to avoid delaying your closing”)
• Slight email address discrepancies(e.g., @escrowcompany.co instead of .com)
• Requests to wire funds to a different bank than originally disclosed
• Email-only communication with no phone confirmation available
• Generic greetings like “Dear Client” instead of your name
• Poor grammar, odd phrasing, or formatting inconsistencies in otherwise professional correspondence
• Instructions to wire funds internationally or to a personal-sounding account name

Buyer Best Practices Before Closing

Prevention is far easier than recovery. Adopt these habits from the moment you go under contract.

• Establish a verbal verification protocol early. At your first meeting, ask your escrow officer for a direct phone number and agree that you will always call this number to verify wire instructions.
• Never trust wire instructions sent solely by email. Treat every emailed instruction as suspect until verbally confirmed.
• Use a known, independently verified phone number. Do not call the number listed in the suspicious email; look up the title company’s number from their official website or your signed contract.
• Send a small test wire if your bank allows it, then confirm receipt before sending the full amount.
• Ask your bank about wire-recall procedures in advance so you know who to call if something goes wrong.
• Use secure, two-factor-authenticated email accounts and avoid accessing financial communications over public Wi-Fi.

What to Do the Day of the Wire

The day you send your wire transfer is one of the most important moments in the entire homebuying process. Taking a few extra minutes to verify every detail can help protect your down payment and prevent a devastating financial loss.

Before sending any funds, call your escrow officer directly using a trusted phone number you have previously verified. Do not use a phone number listed in a suspicious email or last-minute message. Read back the routing number, account number, beneficiary name, and wire amount out loud to confirm every detail matches exactly.

If possible, visit your bank in person for the transfer, especially if this is your first time wiring a large amount of money. Bank employees are often trained to recognize suspicious activity and may catch red flags that are easy to miss under pressure.

Carefully review every digit of the routing and account numbers before authorizing the transfer. Fraudsters sometimes change only one or two numbers, redirecting funds into a fraudulent account that appears legitimate at first glance.

After the wire has been sent, contact your escrow officer again within one hour to confirm the funds were received successfully. Never assume everything is complete until you receive verbal confirmation from the correct party.

Finally, save all wire receipts, confirmation numbers, screenshots, and transaction records. If a problem is discovered, acting quickly gives banks and law enforcement the best chance of recovering the funds.

What to Do If You Suspect Fraud

If something feels off, act within minutes, not hours. Recovery windows are extremely narrow.

• Contact your bank immediately and request a wire recall or SWIFT recall.
• File a complaint with the FBI’s IC3 at ic3.gov as quickly as possible; the FBI’s Financial Fraud Kill Chain can sometimes freeze funds if reported within 72 hours.
• Notify your local FBI field office(Sacramento: 916-746-7000).
• Alert your escrow company, lender, and real estate agent so they can investigate whether their systems were compromised.
• File a police report with local law enforcement to document the crime.
• Contact a real estate attorney to discuss potential recovery and liability options.

A Note for Roseville, Sacramento, and Placer County Buyers

Local title and escrow companies in our region are well aware of these threats and have strong verification protocols. Reputable firms will never email you new wire instructions without expecting a phone call to confirm, and most now include explicit fraud-warning language in every communication. Lean on your local team, work with established professionals, and never let closing-day pressure override your verification process.

Final Word from Amy

Buying a home is stressful enough without worrying about wire fraud. That’s why Amy DeBusk Home Loans encourages every client to slow down and verify all wiring instructions before sending funds.

To help protect your money during escrow:

• verify wire instructions directly with escrow using a trusted phone number
• never trust last minute wire changes sent by email
• confirm routing and account numbers verbally
• use strong passwords and two factor authentication
• avoid public Wi Fi when handling financial information
• call immediately if anything feels suspicious

If you ever have questions during your transaction, call me directly. I would rather take a one minute phone call than see a client become a victim.

Meet Amy DeBusk

Meet Amy DeBusk of Amy DeBusk Home Loans in Roseville, CA. Amy is a Branch Manager for loanDepot and a Certified Mortgage Planner (NMLS #281056) with more than 25 years of mortgage experience. She specializes in helping first time homebuyers, VA borrowers, self employed clients using Bank Statement loans, and residential real estate investors throughout Roseville, Sacramento, and Placer County.

Office Location:
loanDepot — Amy DeBusk Home Loans
2999 Douglas Blvd, Suite 180, Unit 111
Roseville, CA 95661

Connect with Amy:
Follow @AmyDeBuskHomeLoans on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Reddit community r/MortgageMadeEasy for market updates, homebuyer tips, and mortgage insights.

❓FAQS Wire Fraud Prevention In Roseville Ca Real Estate

Real estate wire fraud has become one of the fastest growing cybercrimes in the United States, with buyers losing hundreds of millions of dollars every year to fraudulent wire transfers.

Most scams happen within the final days before closing, when buyers are under pressure to send large amounts of money quickly and may not notice subtle red flags.

Legitimate escrow companies rarely change wire instructions at the last minute. Any unexpected change should be treated as suspicious until verified directly by phone.

Always call your escrow officer using a trusted phone number you already know or independently verified from the company’s official website.

Urgent language, last minute changes, email address misspellings, requests for secrecy, and instructions to wire funds to a different bank are all major red flags.

Yes. Sending the wire in person adds an extra layer of security and allows bank employees to help verify suspicious activity before funds are transferred.

Contact your bank immediately and request a wire recall. Then report the incident to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) as quickly as possible. Time is critical.

Recovery is possible in some cases, especially if reported quickly, but wire transfers move fast and are often difficult to reverse once funds leave the account.