Fraud Scheme, Minimum Standards & Fund Assembly

Hello Members!

Finally!  March Madness is here!  I am so psyched to see if the SEC stomps all over everyone in the tournament this year.  Of course, I am rooting for the Gators but as long as the SEC prevails in the end, I will be pretty satisfied. (Unless it's "that" SEC team, which I will not mention by name in order to avoid email ire from those of you who support "that" team.)

Despite March Madness, there is a lot going on………. so let's get to it.

Fund Assembly/Software Vendors! Fund Assembly will be here before you know it. For those of you exploring your options for a new software vendor, it is almost a "must attend" this year. Why? Software options! For those of you who need to make a change from ClosingVue or DoubleTime, I want to be very clear that you are NOT obligated to move to Qualia. You can choose whatever software best suits your needs. We are already integrated with DisplaySoft, Landtech and Closers' Choice. We are working on three new options for you with AccuAir, TitleFusion and SoftPro. All of these vendors will be at Fund Assembly and available to answer your questions and demonstrate their products. And we will be there right with you if you want to discuss. So I hope you’re planning to join us in Orlando. It’s also an excellent opportunity to learn more about the hot topics we’ve been talking about, like new requirements, fraud and the NAR settlement, plus you can earn up to 13.5 CLE credits, including 3.5 in ethics. If you can’t get away, join us Live Online. Here’s the link to register: https://www.thefund.com/assembly

New Fraud Scheme. I want to make sure you are all aware of this new scheme. Fraudsters are creating fake title agencies, often spoofing a REAL title agency name. THIS IS THE SCARY PART BECAUSE THEY MAY STEAL YOUR NAME! The fraudsters are also pretending to be the seller and referring the real estate agents and buyer to the fake title agency. A fake title agency then starts scamming the buyers, hoping they will send money to the made-up title agency bank account. Here is the alert that we just sent out: https://www.thefund.com/TheFund/media/E-Mail/0325-alert-imposter-fraud-variant-email.pdf. I need you to educate your referral partners of this scheme (i.e., real estate agents) because they are the best frontline defense to this situation. And since fraudsters are referring the real estate agents and/or consumers to the faked agency, it's the real estate agents that need to know about this.

More Fraud Info: Recommended Minimum Standards/Strongly Recommended Practices. We thought it would be helpful to put all of our recommendations about steps you should take to prevent fraud and what you should do when you discover a fraud has occurred in one place. Here is a flyer with handy checklists on both. https://www.thefund.com/resources/information-security/don-t-be-a-fraud-magnet-best-practices

• One side of the flyer has minimum standards that we expect you to follow.
• The other side has strongly recommended actions for you to follow.

These situations pose the biggest threat to your clients AND to the economic viability of your business. They are also the cause of most of the claim dollars we pay. So please take these minimum standards and recommendations seriously.

That's all for this week.
Let me know how we can help you.

Melissa Jay Murphy
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and General Counsel