Seller guide 022
A home seller's closing wire-fraud checklist
Selling a house can involve money going in more than one direction: a loan payoff, a seller contribution, and the remaining proceeds. Give each payment a verified process before the closing-day rush.
The short answer
Set up trusted contacts early and independently verify any change to payment instructions.
A familiar logo, an existing email thread, a correct property address, or an urgent closing deadline is not proof that a payment request is genuine. The FBI describes scams using spoofed accounts and compromised communications to redirect money.
Agree on the payment and verification process with your actual closing professional before money moves. Use a previously verified contact route when something changes. If fraud may already have occurred, contact the sending bank or the professional who controls that account immediately; do not wait for a routine status email.
Payment verification belongs alongside written price, cost, and cancellation terms when comparing a sale.
Understand how cash offers work01
Name the payment before acting on the message
This is a question list, not a direction to send money. A message that combines a legitimate closing task with a new account request still needs verification. Ask your closer to separate the amount calculation from the instructions used to move it.
| Payment | What to establish | Who confirms it |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage or lien payoff | Which obligation is being paid, the current authorized payoff, and who sends the payment. | The closing professional and the verified servicer or lienholder. |
| Money you must bring to closing | Why it is required, the itemized amount, and the approved payment method. | Your closing professional through the agreed verified channel. |
| Your remaining sale proceeds | Who disburses them, how your destination details are verified, and how receipt will be confirmed. | The closing professional and your bank through their established channels. |
02
Establish the callback route before the urgent message arrives
CFPB recommends identifying trusted closing contacts in advance and verifying instructions in person or through an already agreed phone number. Its warning also cautions against using a number or link supplied in the questionable email. Apply that discipline when confirming seller payment or payout changes.
Ask how the closer expects to receive your payout details, whether a secure portal or another process is required, and how any change is checked. Follow the verified process; do not email financial details merely because a message requests them. A real caller's name or a recognizable voice does not remove the need for an independent callback.
03
Keep a verification log without storing bank details in it
Practical worksheet
Seller closing contact and confirmation sheet
Record task status and trusted contact routes in a private note. Do not put account numbers, identity documents, passwords, or login codes in a shared worksheet or a lead inquiry.
- Responsible closing professional
- Name, organization, role, and a contact route independently verified before the payment request.
- Backup contact
- Who can confirm the process if the primary closer is unavailable? Verify this route in advance too.
- Approved process
- Where are payment or payout details provided and verified? Record the process, not the actual account credentials.
- Change check
- What changed, when was it received, who was called independently, and what did that person confirm?
- Expected confirmation
- Who will confirm release and receipt, and when should you call if the expected confirmation is missing?
- Unresolved question
- Identify the issue and responsible person. Leave the task open until the actual professional resolves it.
04
Treat a missing payment as a question to verify promptly
A signed deed, an emailed receipt, a completed appointment, and money available in your bank account are different checkpoints. Ask your closing professional what release and receipt should look like for your transaction. If an expected payment is missing, use your trusted contact routes to check its status rather than replying to the latest email thread.
IC3 recommends monitoring accounts for irregularities, including missing deposits. A discrepancy can have an administrative explanation, but you should not assume it does. Ask the closer and bank to investigate; if payment information may have been changed without authorization, move to the fraud-response steps immediately.
05
If you suspect fraud, contact the bank immediately
- 01
Contact the financial institution that sent the payment, or immediately alert the closing professional controlling the sending account. Explain that fraud is suspected and ask about recall or reversal and contacting the receiving bank.
- 02
Notify the actual closing professional through an independently verified route. Preserve the suspicious messages, transaction references, and a timeline of what happened.
- 03
Report the incident to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov. Provide the requested details directly through the official reporting process.
Explain what you know and what is uncertain. Fast reporting may help the response, but neither a recall request nor a complaint guarantees recovery. HouseResolve is not a payment-verification or fund-recovery service.
METHOD
How this guide was prepared
HouseResolve reviewed the linked FBI, IC3, and CFPB materials and created this original seller-focused verification worksheet. CFPB's mortgage-closing examples primarily address buyers; this guide adapts the independent-verification principle to seller communications without claiming that every closing uses the same payment process.
Real-estate, probate, foreclosure, landlord-tenant, insurance, disclosure, title, and tax rules can vary by property and jurisdiction. Use the worksheet to organize facts, then involve the appropriate licensed or qualified professional when a document, deadline, safety issue, or legal right is unclear.
SOURCES
Primary and consumer references
Sources were checked September 10, 2026. Confirm current requirements for your property and state.
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