Real Estate Transactions Now the Target of Online Scammers

Minor-league real estate companies, including their agents and clients, are now becoming the new preys of high-level online scammers.

PR Newswire reported that Melanie Wyne, a National Association of Realtors technology policy expert, had a talk on the subject during the 2015 REALTORS Conference & Expo on Nov. 13, Friday. She discussed how small real estate companies are more susceptible to hackers given that their technology is not as sophisticated as those utilized by larger real estate businesses.

"Small businesses need to pay just as much attention as large companies to possible cyber threats," Wyne stated.

Just like other online scammers, those who hack real estate businesses search for legit personal information that they could use to scam. Still popular in this hacking modus are bank account and credit card information, physical addresses, social security numbers and employment details.

Once this information is obtained, identity thieves are ready to assume the stolen identity, which could potentially ruin someone's life.

On the other hand, the National Association of Realtors or NAR continues to develop new safety programs to ensure the virtual security of real estate businesses, big or small, the Virtual Press Office wrote.

NAR President Chris Polychron said: "During my tenure as president, we introduced new classes, valuable safety materials and online webinars featuring industry experts to ensure that our members have extensive resources to preserve their safety while on the job."

With the dawn of social media as a powerful communication tool, NAR is able to disseminate safety tips faster. Every week, the association posts security pointers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, which members could implement in their respective real estate businesses.

During the 2015 conference, a safety class was included so that participating real estate companies could be taught how to lessen the risk of being hacked. Safety resources, such as videos and reading materials, are also now being made available to members.