Protecting your closing funds is our job.
Wire fraud targeting real estate transactions has become one of the most common forms of financial fraud in the United States. We take this seriously, and we want you to as well.
⚠ Important: Read Before Sending Any Wire
Title Management Group will never send wire instructions solely by email without a prior phone confirmation. If you receive wire instructions that appear to come from us without an accompanying phone call, do not send funds. Call our office immediately at 504-834-2977.
How Wire Fraud Works
Real estate wire fraud typically works like this: criminals monitor email communications between buyers, realtors, lenders, and title companies. When they identify an upcoming closing, they send fraudulent wire instructions — designed to look like legitimate communications from the title company — directing closing funds to an account they control.
Once funds are wired to a fraudulent account, recovery is extremely rare. The FBI estimates that real estate wire fraud causes hundreds of millions of dollars in losses annually.
Our Protocol
Title Management Group uses the following procedures to protect your closing funds:
- Phone confirmation required. Before any closing funds are wired to us, we will call you directly to verbally confirm the wire instructions. This call will come from a phone number you can verify against our publicly listed numbers.
- Encrypted email for initial delivery. Wire instructions are transmitted via encrypted email, not standard unencrypted email.
- Consistent routing information. Our wire instructions do not change from closing to closing. If you receive a message telling you that our banking information has "changed" or been "updated," treat it as fraud and call us immediately.
- Verification before release. We confirm receipt of all wires before any documents are released or transactions are completed.
What You Should Do
- Treat all wire instruction emails with skepticism. Even if an email appears to come from our email address, criminals can spoof email addresses to look authentic.
- Always call to verify. Before sending any funds, call us at our publicly listed phone numbers (not any phone number that appears in an email) to confirm the wire instructions.
- Check the destination carefully. Before authorizing a wire at your bank, confirm the routing number, account number, and receiving bank name match exactly what we verbally confirmed.
- Act immediately if you suspect fraud. If you believe you have sent funds to a fraudulent account, immediately call your bank and ask them to initiate a wire recall, then call the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and local law enforcement.
Contact Us Immediately If
- You receive wire instructions that you did not expect
- You receive a message saying our banking information has changed
- You receive pressure to wire funds quickly without verification
- Anything about a wire instruction communication feels unusual or off
Metairie office: 504-834-2977
Email: info@titlemg.com
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Last updated: January 2025