How Do Frisco, Texas Homebuyers Protect Their Money From Wire Fraud at Closing?

You protect your money by never acting on wiring instructions that arrive by email alone, and by calling the title company at a phone number you already trust before any money leaves your account. That one habit stops the most common real estate scam in the country. If something does go wrong, calling your bank within minutes gives you the best chance of getting the money back.

I'm Omega Mejia, a real estate agent with Simply Great Real Estate Group, and I help buyers find homes in Frisco, Texas and across Collin County. If you are buying your first home, the days before closing are full of emails, signatures and deadlines. That is the exact moment scammers count on.

Yes. According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, as reported by the National Association of REALTORS in April 2026, at least 12,368 people reported real estate fraud in 2025, with more than $275 million in losses. In 2024 the FBI recorded 9,359 complaints and more than $173 million in losses, so both numbers rose in a single year.

The FBI also says artificial intelligence helps scammers create convincing fake content, which makes fraud harder to spot.

The same report shows that people in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s filed roughly equal numbers of real estate fraud reports. The protection comes from a process, not from being savvy.

The scam starts with someone else's email. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains that scammers break into the email accounts of real estate professionals, read the messages, and learn when a closing is coming up.

Then, right before closing, you get an email that looks like it came from your agent, the title company, an attorney or another person you trust. It says the wiring instructions changed, or it sends new ones with a different account number. The CFPB notes that these messages often read like a normal conversation, which is why they work.

Scammers can also copy email addresses, phone numbers and message layouts so closely that the difference is a single letter. The CFPB warns that some scammers follow up with a phone call to make the fake instructions sound official. If you send the money, it goes to the scammer's account instead of the title company.

Any money you send by wire during the purchase is at risk. The Texas Real Estate Commission names both the earnest money deposit and the funds for closing on a home purchase as wires that call for care before they are sent.

Earnest money is the deposit you make soon after the seller accepts your offer, and it is held by the title company. That makes the first wire happen early, often within days of a signed contract, while you are also scheduling inspections during the option period. The second, larger transfer happens right before closing.

The steps are simple, and they work best when you set them up at the start of the purchase, before any money moves. These come from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Texas Department of Insurance and the Texas Real Estate Commission.

• Pick two trusted contacts early. The CFPB suggests choosing two people, such as your agent and the title company's escrow officer, and talking through how money will move in person or by phone, not by email.
• Save every phone number at the start. The Texas Department of Insurance says to get a contact name, email address and phone number for everyone in the purchase, including your agent, your lender and the title company.
• Agree on a code phrase. The CFPB suggests a phrase known only to you and your trusted contacts, so a caller who does not know it is not one of them.
• Treat changed instructions as a stop sign. TDI says to be wary of any email that demands an immediate response or says payment details have changed.
• Call before every wire. Use the number you saved at the start, never one from the email, and go over the account name and number out loud with the title company.
• Call again right after you send it. TDI says to make sure the payment arrived right after you send it, so a problem surfaces in minutes instead of days.
• Keep financial details out of email. The CFPB notes that email is not secure, so account numbers and personal details belong on the phone or in person.

You should treat any email that changes wiring instructions as a scam until the title company tells you otherwise on a phone call you started. The Texas Real Estate Commission tells consumers not to rely on payment instructions received by email, because email can be hijacked.

That is also why I talk with my buyers about wiring before the first dollar moves. TREC says real estate license holders should talk with clients before wiring money for an earnest money deposit or a closing, so the client is sending funds to the right recipient and account. In my buying process, that conversation happens when the contract is signed, not the night before closing.

You can also pick your own title company. The Texas Department of Insurance says your agent, builder or lender may recommend one, and you are free to choose any company you want. TDI licenses title agents in Texas and runs a Help Line at 800-252-3439 for questions about a title agent's license.

Call your bank or wire company right away and request a wire recall. The CFPB says quick reporting improves your chances of getting the money back, so minutes matter more than anything else here.

Next, file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, known as IC3. The IC3 says to file even if you are unsure whether your situation qualifies, and complaints can be referred to federal, state and local law enforcement. Then call your agent and the title company at the numbers you saved at the start.

Speed can make a difference. The National Association of REALTORS described a case where homebuyers wired more than $449,000 after an email that pretended to come from their attorneys. After the buyers reported it to their bank, the FBI's Recovery Asset Team asked the receiving bank to freeze the account, and the bank reported the full amount was still there and on hold.

One more warning: the IC3 says it will never contact you directly for information or money, and it does not work with private companies that promise to recover lost funds. A call or email offering to get your money back for a fee is a second scam.

Title insurance protects your ownership of the home, which is a different risk from a wire sent to a scammer. The Texas Department of Insurance explains that title insurance covers problems with the title, including fraud or forgery in earlier paperwork, unpaid property taxes, or a spouse or unknown heir who claims ownership.

TDI says an owner's policy protects you for as long as you own the home, and a loan policy protects the lender until the loan is paid off. All Texas title companies charge the same title insurance rates, and the policy language is the same no matter which company you use, according to TDI.

A first purchase brings a lot of new names at once: a lender, an escrow officer, an inspector and sometimes a builder. Write those names and phone numbers down in one place during the first week under contract, and keep that list away from your email. The CFPB's Mortgage Closing Checklist is a good place to keep them.

When an email feels urgent, slow down. A real title company would rather wait ten minutes for your call than have your money land in the wrong place. If you are comparing a new build with a resale home, my new construction page explains how the steps differ, and my post on buyer agreements covers the paperwork that comes before any of this. If you want help building your contact list, contact me.

If you are planning to buy in Frisco, Texas and want a closing where every dollar lands where it should, contact me and we will set up your trusted contacts before you write the first offer. You can read the short answer on my FAQ page, see how I run a purchase from start to finish on my process page.

Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, as reported by the National Association of REALTORS, April 13, 2026; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Texas Department of Insurance; Texas Real Estate Commission; IC3. This is general information, not legal, tax, financial or insurance advice.