What time is this Closing?

A simple question often asked, sometimes faked.  Last year I ran into 3 separate instances where a criminal was sending a request just like that to a processor.  What time is this closing? A simple question that can have costly consequences.  It can start a conversation with a trained con artist a busy processor can fall trap to.

How does it work?

It happens different ways, maybe it's a conversation between 2 parties with the Title Company copied on, then a question is asked.  An innocent email like the above or a phone call the receptionist knows the answer to. With that bit of data, another attempt will be made.  The Sting.

A client who saw 2 of these "What time is this closing" emails noted that the second one had the same lender.  Another client had seen one a few months before, same lender.  In each case, at the initial contact, the criminal knew information private to the file. The property address, seller's email,  agent's email, and of course the title company email address.

Where did it come from?

Title companies scanned computers and found nothing out of the ordinary. Agents were contacted, who either checked their systems, or were discounted for other reasons.

The lender wasn't contacted until the commonality was found. That call didn't go well.  The person responding had no knowledge how to respond to something like this.  Their trail in life had them at a post-closing position. They were in full denial, it couldn't be them.

Without any effort, the lender repeatedly assured the agent they couldn't be infected since the lender runs Calyx. The poor guy was sadly equipped to deal with the potential that something his direction was potentially compromised.  He was annoyed with me for reporting it, but also annoyed my clients hadn't reported it.  It was a very circular conversation at times.

What time??

It is not always a simple question.  Beware who with you share.