With Cyberfraud on the rise, title agencies need to be even more vigilant when it comes to payoffs. Recently, more and more agencies are receiving fraudulent payoffs via fax transmission. While the payoffs look authentic, there are small details that, if missed, will cause heartache for sellers, lenders, and title agencies.
Take these important steps to protect yourself:
- Set up a template with well-known lenders – have prepopulated routing and account numbers locked in. That way, the only items that can be changed are the loan number and beneficiary. Be sure to restrict access to which employees can modify the template.
- Use a verified phone number to verbally confirm with the lender any information provided on the payoff. Do NOT use the number on the payoff you received.
- Consider sending a check from the escrow account to the lender’s payoff department, if it’s acceptable. Overnight the payoff instead of wiring to prevent any chance of fraud.
Did you know that Network Transaction Solutions has an
entire Payoff Division? We obtain and verify all mortgage payoffs to ensure legitimacy and accuracy. Call us for more information at 1-866-467-8031.
