BANK WIRING INSTRUCTION FRAUD
Recently there have been increased reports across the nation
of a theft scheme that involves hackers stealing email addresses and sending
fraudulent wiring instructions to homebuyers and tenants. Realtors®, lawyers,
title agents and buyers could be affected. The criminal scheme has many
variations and this notice is not intended to describe each situation. As an
actual or prospective buyer or tenant, we want to alert you to the situation so
that you can minimize the risk that you could be a victim.
We strongly recommend that before you wire any funds to any
party (including your own lawyer, real estate broker or title agent whom you know
to be involved in your transaction) that you personally call them to verify the
wire instructions (you should confirm the ABA routing number or SWIFT code and
the credit account number). You should call them at a number that you have
obtained on your own (e.g., the sales contract, their website, etc.) and should
not use the phone number that is contained in any email – even if the email
appears to be from someone you know. A common aspect of the scheme involves the
criminal hacking the sender’s email (unbeknownst to them) and sending you an
email that looks like other legitimate emails you have received from that
party. The email contains the criminal’s wire instructions and may contain the
criminal’s phone number and once your funds are wired by your bank to the
criminal’s account there may be no way to recover those funds.
PLEASE EXERCISE CAUTION BEFORE WIRING FUNDS TO ANY PARTY.
This notice is not intended to provide legal advice. You should consult with a
lawyer if you have any questions.
WIRE FRAUD SCAM ALERT
We recently learned of a wire fraud scam connected with
rental properties. These sham transactions have been identified in at least the
countries of Belgium, the Netherlands and United Kingdom.
In this scam, the scammer advertises a property to rent on a
website with only an email address to contact them. After a potential tenant
expresses interest, he/she is contacted by email (in Dutch) for more
information. The scammers provide the address of the property and some general
information and then asks to communicate further (in English) – and by email
only. If the potential tenant reacts positively to this request, pictures are
sent along with information about the property and instructions for wiring
money (1 or 2 months rent) to consolidate the deal so they can send the keys of
the property and the legal documents to a BOUNDARY REALTY office to handle the
transaction. Once the money is wired, there is no further contact.
Under no circumstances should you wire any money in this
situation. You should always verify the legitimacy of any real estate
transaction before transferring any funds. Please contact the BOUNDARY REALTY
Regional office in your State to verify the legitimacy of any transaction. A
list of regional offices can be found here: http://www.BoundaryRealty.Com/
We want to alert consumers to this scam so that you can take
measures to ensure the security of your information and to protect yourselves.
For more information on wire-fraud scams or to report an incident, please refer
to the following links:
Federal Bureau of Investigation: http://www.fbi.gov/
Internet Crime Complaint Center: http://www.ic3.gov/
National White Collar Crime Center: http://www.nw3c.org/
On Guard Online: http://www.onguardonline.gov/
LEGAL@BOUNDARYREALTY.COM SCAM ALERT
BOUNDARY REALTY LLC firmly believes in the importance of
protecting personally identifiable information of all consumers. Be wary of
unauthorized parties identifying themselves as “BOUNDARY REALTY, Recruitment
Specialists” or something similar and offering potential work opportunities.
There have been reports of emails being sent from an email address that
includes our trademark and contains attachments asking the recipients to fill
out questionnaires regarding employment history and other information to send
back to the sender. These emails may be operated by persons looking to collect
personal information about you for the purpose of perpetrating a fraud or
stealing your identity.
BE ADVISED THAT THESE TYPES OF EMAILS ARE NOT ORIGINATING
FROM BOUNDARY REALTY LLC AND BOUNDARY REALTY LLC DOES NOT SEEK CANDIDATES FOR
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THIS WAY.
If you have provided personally identifiable information
(such as social security number, bank numbers or credit card information) to an
unauthorized party, please contact one of the following agencies to report this
disclosure and receive guidance on any further actions you should take to
protect your identity:
FTC toll free hotline: 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357)
FTC online complaint form (http://www.ftc.gov/)
Internet Fraud Complaint Center (http://www.ic3.gov/)
Non-emergency number for your local police department.
The government agency in your country responsible for
dealing with fraud.
It has come to our attention that people are running various
employment scams using various corporate brands, including the Boundary Realty
brand. An important reminder that if you
see an employment opportunity, you should always directly contact the local
affiliate before giving out any personal information.
AGENT-RATINGS.COM SCAM ALERT
You may have reached this page through an unauthorized
source, agent-ratings.com. Agent-ratings.com is using fake Boundary Realty
banner ads which link to the Boundary Realty homepage in an effort to lend
legitimacy to their business by creating a false relationship with Boundary
Realty. Please be advised that Boundary Realty has no affiliation or
relationship with agent-ratings.com or its affiliated companies. Boundary
Realty LLC. does not advertise on agent-ratings.com and Boundary Realty LLC. has
not authorized use of its ads, trademarks and/or logos on the agent-ratings.com
website. To continue on to the Boundary Realty website, simply click on any of
the above links or click here:
https://www.BoundaryRealty.Com
