Title fraud continues to grow, seeing sharp increases in the third quarter of 2020, according to the latest report from FundingShield.
FundingShield’s Q3 2020 Wire and Title Fraud Analytics report shows a 31.5% increase in wire verification and ownership issues.
“The risk of wire and title fraud in the closing and settlement space persisted and grew in certain risk concentrations during Q3 2020,” FundingShield stated in its report.
The company’s data reports potential first or third-party fraud, misrepresentations, errors due to negligence or operational gaps, as well as cybersecurity threats.
The report also found a 30% increase in fraud/risk exposure in CPL errors and issues, and a 90% increase in state licensing issues from the second to the third quarter of 2020.
How to prevent wire fraud while increasing production
Comparing Q2 vs Q3 2020, FundingShield found a 30% increase in fraud/risk exposure in CPL errors and issues.
Presented by: FundingShield
Last year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimated that $1.77 billion was stolen in 2019 due to wire fraud. Now, this threat is rising faster than predicted due to COVID-19 and the surge in digital transactions.
For example, a recent FBI report showed a 50% surge in mobile banking since the beginning of 2020, likely due to stay-at-home orders, and as a result, the bureau issued a public service announcement cautioning users on the potential for increased risk of cyber fraud.
Earlier this year, Thomas Cronkright, CertifID cofounder and CEO as well as Sun Title Agency CEO, explained in a HousingWire interview why this is so dangerous.
“You’ve got remote distancing, so the teams just aren’t synced as tight as what they were,” Croknright said. “A lot of the law enforcement at the federal level that helps with wire fraud are still working from home.”
But many companies have stepped up to the challenge, introducing new solutions to prevent wire fraud.
Fidelity National Financial, a provider of title insurance and settlement services to the real estate and mortgage industries, is working to prevent wire fraud in today’s growing digital environment. The company announced it delivered more than 800,000 digital opening packages to consumers. 70% of these packages were opened and 85% of consumers that started the startSafe interview completed it.
