A Southern California couple is warning other homebuyers after they fell victim to a mortgage fraud scheme that nearly cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The couple, who asked ABC News to identify them only by their first names, Lynette and Scott, said the incident occurred when they were going to submit a down payment on a home.
They said they had been corresponding via email with their mortgage broker, when they received what looked like a message from the broker that contained a misspelled word in the sender’s email address.
“It was an exact duplicate of any correspondence that we’ve had with the company before,” Scott recalled, speaking with ABC News’ Aaron Katersky. “It was identical, but for one keystroke.”
Instead of “escrow.com,” Lynette said the email came from an address that used two V’s in place of a W.
After they sent the money, Scott and Lynette followed up with their broker, who told them they hadn’t received anything.
Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes told ABC News speed is essential in cyber fraud cases like Scott and Lynette’s case.
“The quicker you recognize it and then take immediate action is key. The likelihood of recovering that money is almost zero after about 72 hours,” Barnes said.
According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, there are a variety of cyber fraud crimes involving home financing, including business email compromise, the type Lynette and Scott fell victim to, where criminals spoof email accounts to get victims to send money or share sensitive information.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office was able to trace where Scott and Lynette’s money went. After several months, they ultimately recovered about 90% of their funds.
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers recommends customers take precautions by calling sources and double-checking any information or requests.