Payment fraud · Real estate, title and closings

Payment fraud against real estate and title companies: cases from the public record

Cases in which a payment was redirected to the wrong account, involving brokerages, title and closing offices, and buyers and sellers. Each one is dated and linked to its source.

These are cases published by courts, police and regulators that we have read at source. Not every fraud is made public.

Check my firm Read the cases
Courts, police and regulatorsRead at sourceDated and linked
01 · The cases

From the public record, with the way in where the source states it.

In the United States, newest first

7 Oct 2026
Florida, United States

A police affidavit reported on 7 October 2026 says a Florida couple wired a $38,805 down payment in January 2025 to someone writing as their title company. The address ended in ".co" where the company's own ends in ".com".

In the source's wordsThe emails came from a spoofed address nearly identical to the firm’s real email address. The only difference was the domain extension
The way in, as the source states itAn address or domain made to look like the real one.
Lake Wales police arrest affidavit, as reported by WKMG News 6Published 7 Oct 2026
22 Jan 2026
Rhode Island, United States

A lawsuit filed in February 2026 says a title insurer closing a Rhode Island property sale in January 2026 wired $4.16 million of sale proceeds to a fraudster's account. It says the seller's lawyer later told it that an email account on the seller's side had been hacked before closing. That is a claim, not a finding.

The way in, as the source states itA real mailbox was taken over. The source does not say how the mailbox was entered.
US District Court, Southern District of New York, case 1:26-cv-01155 (the complaint)Published 11 Feb 2026
23 Dec 2025
Washington, United States

In December 2025 investigators in Kittitas County, Washington said a home buyer sent more than $700,000 after a message that used his title company's name and came from a free webmail address. His bank stopped the transfer in time.

In the source's wordsThe email used the company’s name but came from a Gmail address.
The way in, as the source states itSomething an outside check would not see.
Kittitas County Sheriff's Office, as reported by KPQPublished 23 Dec 2025
19 Nov 2025
Delaware, United States

A lawsuit filed in Delaware in January 2026 says a home buyer wired $2,209,240 for a closing after an email that claimed to be from the real-estate coordinator at her law firm. The claim says it came from a free webmail address. That is a claim, not a finding.

In the source's wordsa spoofed email from [email protected], purporting to be from a real estate coordinator at the law firm representing her
The way in, as the source states itSomething an outside check would not see.
WDEL, reporting a complaint filed in the US District Court for DelawarePublished 16 Feb 2026

In other countries, newest first

4 Jan 2026
Alberta, Canada

In January 2026 Alberta's real estate regulator warned that, in a recent deal, a fraudster got into the email exchange between the buyer's and the seller's agents and sent a message that appeared to come from the seller's agent. The buyer sent the deposit where the fake message said.

In the source's wordsThe fraudster then sent an email to the buyer’s licensee that appeared to come from the seller’s licensee, instructing that the buyer’s deposit be sent to a new email address.
The way inThe source does not state the way in.
Real Estate Council of AlbertaPublished 4 Jan 2026
November 2025
Saskatchewan, Canada

In November 2025 Saskatchewan's real estate regulator warned that outsiders get into agents' email accounts, watch them, and then write to a client from the agent's own account to send the deposit somewhere else. It said police in the province had reported an increase in it.

In the source's wordsUnauthorized third parties gain access to registrant email accounts and monitor activity, waiting for an opportunity to redirect funds coming from clients.
The way in, as the source states itA real mailbox was taken over. The source does not say how the mailbox was entered.
Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission, Cybersecurity Risk AlertPublished November 2025
28 Oct 2025
South Australia, Australia

Australian Federal Police said in October 2025 that a client settling a property in South Australia received a fraudulent invoice for $338,000 after the conveyancer's email was compromised. Police intercepted the payment and recovered the full amount.

In the source's wordsA client overseas was settling a property and received a fraudulent invoice for $338,000 after the conveyancing firm's email was compromised.
The way in, as the source states itA real mailbox was taken over. The source does not say how the mailbox was entered.
Australian Federal PolicePublished 28 Oct 2025

Each case is from the public source linked under it, in that source's own terms. LeakTrace had no part in any of them.

02 · The government figure

What was reported, across every line of work.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded 24,768 complaints of business email fraud in 2025, with $3.05 billion in reported losses. It does not break the figure down by how the email was faked.

Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 figures

Reported losses, as the publisher states them. They describe what was reported, not what will happen to your firm.

03 · What an outside check sees

What can be read from outside, before anyone asks for a payment.

01
Email anyone can forge

Your SPF and DMARC records, in plain words: whether a message that fakes your address is refused or delivered.

How we check it
02
Look-alike domains

Registered domains made from your firm’s name. We tell you which deserve a second look, with the public record behind each, and ask: is it yours?

How we check it
03
Shared addresses in breach records

Addresses at your domain in monitored breach databases. A reused password can open a real mailbox, and a real conversation with a client.

How we check it

An outside check cannot see inside a mailbox or a bank. Where a source does not state the way in, we do not guess it.

The outside watch for real estate and title companies Cases: Builders and tradesCases: Law firmsCases: Manufacturers and suppliers Cases by line of work
04 · Check my firm

See what is open before anyone else does.

We read from outside, find each way in first, and show it with a check anyone can re-run. No access, nothing tested, no obligation.

What we readPublic sources only
Who sees itYou alone
Delivery72 hours from confirmation
Meeting firstNone
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