Wire
fraud
prevention
firm

CertifID
and
big
four

title
firm


Old
Republic
have
entered
into
a
strategic
agreement
to
prevent

mortgage
payoff
fraud,
according
to
an
announcement
on
Thursday.

Mortgage
payoff
fraud
occurs
when
a
title
company
mistakenly
sends
payoff
funds
to
a
fraudulent
bank
account
after
receiving
wire
instructions
that
appear
to
be
from
the
mortgage
servicer.
The
instructions,
however,
are
actually
from
fraudsters.

“Old
Republic
Title
continues
to
focus
on
innovation
to
enable
the
success
of
our
direct
and
agency
operations,”
Carolyn
Monroe,
the
president
and
CEO
of
Old
Republic
National
Title
Holding
Co.,
said
in
a
statement.
“We
are
excited
to
leverage
the
comprehensive
approach
to
fraud
prevention
that
CertifID
provides,
inclusive
of
software,
insurance,
and
recovery
and
support
services,
to
help
prevent
fraud
and
create
the
best
experiences
for
our
agents
and
customers,
and
all
parties
involved
in
real
estate
transactions.”

Although
fewer
home
sale
transactions

closed
in
2023,
fraudsters
continued
to
be
active,
with
the


FBI
reporting
that
fraud
loss
in
the
real
estate
sector

reached
$446
million
in
2023.
 

Data
from
CertifID
shows
that
mortgage
payoff
fraud
has
become
the
largest
source
of
losses
among
title
firms,
with
the
median
loss
coming
in
at
$257,000
in
2023.
Additionally,
a
study
by
the


American
Land
Title
Association
found
that
roughly
17%
of
title
companies
have
sent
money
to
an
incorrect
account
due
to
fraud,
and
49%
of
those
organizations
have
done
so
more
than
once.

In
a
statement,
CertifID
CEO

Tyler
Adams
said
that
he
applauds
Old
Republic
for
taking
the
initiative
to
help
reduce
the
risk
of
mortgage
payoff
fraud.

“We
look
forward
to
working
together
to
truly
solve
the
issue
of
payoff
fraud
seen
across
the
industry,”
Adams
added.

In
2023,
Old
Republic’s
title
segment
reported
net
fee
and
premium
earnings
of
$2.563
billion,
down
33.2%
compared
to
2022,
and
a
pretax
income
of
$133.5
million,
a
drop
of
56.7%.

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