The closing-day wire-fraud kit Then the wire instructions changed.
One spoofed email with "updated" wiring details can send a client's down payment to a thief, and it almost never comes back. This kit gives you the exact verification habit, the email red flags, a one-pager to hand clients, and a calm first-hour plan if money already moved. No sign-up wall on the value - read it, copy it, put it to work today.
- The exact out-of-band verification SOP your team follows before any funds move - written so an admin can run it on day one
- A closing-day email red-flags checklist agents can keep on the desk
- A client-facing "how we protect your funds" one-pager you can brand and send
- A clear, no-panic first-hour plan if funds were already sent - who to call, in what order, right now
Yours free - no signup wall. Want the editable templates or a hand rolling it out? Just ask.
Why closing day is the target
This is business email compromise (BEC), and a real-estate or mortgage deal is the perfect setup for it: large sums, a hard closing date, and a dozen parties - agent, buyer, lawyer, mortgage broker, lender - all emailing each other. Antivirus never fires, because there's no malware. It's just a believable email at the worst possible moment. Knowing exactly how it unfolds is the first defence.
The out-of-band verification SOP (copy this)
"Out-of-band" just means: confirm the money instructions through a different channel than the one they arrived on. If the wiring details came by email, you verify by phone - using a number you already had, never the one in the email. This is the single habit that defeats almost every closing-day wire scam. Print it, tape it by the desk, and make it non-negotiable before any funds move.
Closing-day email red flags (desk checklist)
Hand this to every agent and admin who touches a closing. None of these on its own proves fraud - but any of them means stop and run the verification SOP before money moves. Read the email like a skeptic, not like someone trying to clear their inbox before lunch.
The client one-pager: how we protect your funds
Wire fraud works partly because clients don't know it exists - so they panic and act on a fake email before anyone catches it. Give clients this at the start of the deal, not the day funds move. Put it on your letterhead, send it with the agreement, and it does two jobs: it protects their money and it makes your brokerage look like the professionals who saw it coming.
If funds were already sent: the first hour
If a wire has gone to the wrong account, the next hour matters more than any other. Money can sometimes be frozen or recalled if you move fast - speed beats blame every time. Keep this where your team can grab it under pressure, because nobody thinks clearly in the moment. This is practical readiness, not legal advice; loop in counsel early.
Print the verification SOP and the first-hour plan and tape them where closings actually happen - by the admin's desk and the phone. The client one-pager belongs on your letterhead, sent at the start of every deal, not the day funds move. This kit is practical readiness, not legal, insurance, or financial advice - confirm trust-account and verification procedures with your lawyer and brokerage of record.
A checklist is a start. A drill makes it stick.
The Cyber Fire Drill runs these exact attacks against your team - safely - so the habits in this toolkit become muscle memory. Three hours, on-site, with a scored 30-day plan.
Is this kit really free, or is it a sales funnel in disguise?
It's genuinely yours to use. Copy the SOP into your closing checklist, hand the one-pager to clients, tape the first-hour plan by the phone - no catch. If your team would rather rehearse the attack live instead of just reading about it, that's what our Cyber Fire Drill does, but the kit stands on its own.
We use Lone Wolf, Dotloop and Broker Bay - does this fit our workflow?
Yes. The verification SOP is built to live inside the closing checklists and transaction folders you already use, so it travels with every deal. The habits work the same no matter which platform you're on - the point is that the wiring details get confirmed by voice before money moves.
Reading a kit is one thing - how do we get our agents to actually do this under pressure?
That's the gap a document can't close, and it's exactly what The Cyber Fire Drill is for. We put your agents and admin through a safe, authorized closing-day wire-fraud attempt - no malware, no real money, no shaming anyone - so the verification habit is muscle memory when the real email lands. It's a live, roughly three-hour session for your whole office, $3,900 + HST, and you leave with this SOP tailored to your firm and a scored 30-day plan.
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