WFG National Title Insurance Debuts Cyberfraud Awareness Team

Jan 08, 2019

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has published “The Basic Components of an Information Security Program,” a free White Paper detailing information security risks that affect the mortgage industry and strategies for managing those risks

WFG National Title Insurance Company has launched a Cyberfraud Awareness Team that will seek to educate consumers and companies involved in the homebuying and mortgage process about the dangers of online and e-mail fraud.

The new Cyberfraud Awareness Team will focus on the potential for fraud during the time when funds need to be wired to settlement service providers. The Portland-based company hired Aaron Cole, a local homeowner who just lost $123,000 in a sophisticated e-mail scam, as the team’s spokesperson—Cole received a bogus e-mail from a scammer using an e-mail address purportedly from WFG for wiring his downpayment. The money went to the scammer’s bank account in Florida and was later transferred to four other banks and then out of the country.

"Unsecure e-mail and mobile devices are particularly at risk, and consumers are vulnerable at emotional times with tight deadlines, such as home closings," said WFG Executive Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer Don O'Neill. "We believe people will pay attention to Aaron's story because they can relate to other consumers who are in the process of transferring funds while purchasing a home."

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Phil Hall

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Jan 08, 2019

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