Real Estate Cybersecurity
Stop wire fraud at the closing table and protect the client data brokerages, title companies, and escrow teams handle every day.
One Wire, One Chance to Get It Right
Real estate closings are the FBI's textbook example of business email compromise for a reason: a large, time-pressured, one-time wire transfer, moving between parties who mostly communicate by email and often haven't worked together before. Attackers only need to compromise one link in that chain.
Beyond closing fraud, brokerages, title companies, and property managers hold sensitive financial and personal data on buyers, sellers, and tenants — making them attractive targets even outside the closing process itself.
Why Real Estate Is a Target
- Large, time-sensitive wires with a hard closing deadline
- Buyers unfamiliar with normal wiring procedures
- Email as the default channel across agent, title, and lender
- High-value client PII held by brokerages and title companies
- Frequent, ad hoc coordination between unfamiliar parties
- Escrow accounts represent a concentrated, attractive target
Risks Specific to Real Estate
The threats that consistently show up in our real estate and title industry engagements.
Attackers monitor a compromised agent, title, or lender inbox, then send fraudulent wiring instructions at the exact moment a buyer is ready to transfer closing funds.
Escrow and trust accounts represent a concentrated pool of client funds — a single account takeover can affect multiple transactions at once.
Phishing targeting agents, title officers, and escrow staff is often the first step — the wire fraud itself is the second stage of a longer compromise.
Purchase agreements, financial statements, and identity documents held for buyers and sellers create significant breach liability if systems are compromised.
Transactions involve multiple external parties by design — lenders, inspectors, attorneys — each a potential entry point into the communication chain.
Property management and transaction management platforms holding active deal data are attractive ransomware targets during high-volume closing periods.
How Helm Helps
Services we most often deliver for real estate, title, and escrow firms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are real estate closings such a common wire fraud target?
A closing involves a large, one-time wire transfer, a buyer who has likely never done this before, and email as the default communication channel between agent, title company, and lender. Attackers who compromise any one of those parties' inboxes can insert fraudulent wiring instructions at exactly the moment a buyer is primed to act.
What can we do beyond just telling clients to call and verify?
Client education matters, but it isn't sufficient on its own. We help title and escrow companies harden email security controls, add out-of-band verification steps to their actual wiring process, and train staff to recognize account compromise before it reaches a client.
Do you work with brokerages as well as title and escrow companies?
Yes. We work across the transaction — brokerages, title companies, escrow agents, and property management firms — since a compromise anywhere in that chain can put a closing at risk.