According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), 2025 saw a new record of over 1 million complaints, exceeding over $20.8 billion in losses. This is a significant increase from the $16.6 billion reported in 2024, and reflects a quintupling of losses since 2020, when the IC3 reported $4.2 billion in losses. A significant driver of this escalation is the growth of cyber-enabled crime. Technological advances, such as the acceleration of mainstream use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the rise of instant payment options, and social engineering mean that cybercriminals continue to grow in their scope and sophistication. In 2025 alone, IC3 received over 453,000 cyber-enabled crime complaints, accounting for more than $17 billion in losses.
Cybercriminals don’t discriminate when choosing their victims, so businesses and organizations must remain vigilant with their cybersecurity measures. Without established protocols in place, you may not realize you have a security risk until it’s too late. Here, we highlight five common cybersecurity threats to the title and real estate industry, and how you can help protect yourself and your organization.
FIVE COMMON CYBERSECURITY THREATS
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Phishing/Spoofing, a type of cyberattack that combines email and social engineering to entice victims, remains the top cybercrime reported to the FBI in 2025, with over 190,000 complaints. Phishing emails often appear to come from a familiar organization or individual, tricking the recipient into clicking on a link or opening an attachment that contains malicious code. Once this code runs, the computer may become infected with malware. Phishing schemes have evolved from merely email and may also arrive in the form or a text message (smishing), voice message created with AI (vishing) or QR code (quishing).
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Business Email Compromise (BEC) is a scam that targets both businesses and individuals performing transfer of funds. Originally a scheme in which a cybercriminal hacks or "spoofs" a legitimate business email to request that wire payments go into a cybercriminal-controlled bank account, BEC fraud has evolved with the help of AI chat generators and voice cloning.
Although the FBI received fewer BEC complaints in 2025 compared to previous years, it remained the second-costliest reported crime, with over $3 billion in losses. CertifID’s 2026 State of Wire Fraud estimates that 40% of BEC phishing emails were generated by AI, a 1,760% year-over-year increase since AI tools became available. The Association of Financial Professionals found in their recent report that 74% of organizations fell victim to BEC in 2025, making it a continued significant threat to businesses.
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Ransomware is a type of malicious software that is so destructive it merits its own category. It is a type of malware that takes over your computer and encrypts your data, refusing you access to it until a ransom is paid. Ransomware attacks continue to rise across the world, with notable impacts to the title industry.
The FBI reports that ransomware was the most pervasive threat to critical infrastructure, which includes the financial services sector. Reported losses in 2025 nearly tripled from $12.4 million in 2024 to $32.3 million in 2025, and 63 new ransomware variants were identified. Ransomware can be introduced through phishing emails or infected websites, so always avoid clicking on suspicious links in both email and text messages.
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Wire fraud is a type of fraud involving telecommunications or the internet, including phone calls, faxes, emails, texts or social media messages. Inflation in 2025 led to higher interest rates, lower housing inventory and a slowed pace in home sales. This caused many buyers, sellers, and real estate agents to feel more pressure to achieve fast turnarounds, creating the perfect environment for wire fraud to flourish.
CertifID reports that consumers have grown savvier, and that, "Wire fraud has entered the mainstream consciousness in a way that demands a response from the industry." Consumers now expect cybersecurity accountability and tangible protection from real estate businesses, such as mandatory verification and verified platforms, with a reported 85% of consumers surveyed willing to pay extra for wire fraud protection.
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Real estate fraud. ALTA CEO Chris Morton stated in a recent press release that, “The FBI’s latest data shows real estate fraud is growing in a threat environment shaped by impersonation, business email compromise, and AI-enabled deception.” Title fraud, a form of identity theft, occurs when a fraudster illegally transfers the title to real property without the actual owner’s knowledge or consent. Some examples of title fraud include:
• Vacant land fraud, in which a fraudster searches through public records to find properties that are free of mortgages or liens. They pretend to be the true owner and contact a real estate agent to sell the property. Fraudulent "sellers" often attempt to dupe real estate professionals by claiming to have no social security or TIN number, to be traveling abroad for business, or to live in a different country or state from their listed mailing address.
• Seller impersonation fraud occurs when the fraudster searches for property that is free and clear of a mortgage or other liens, mainly targeting vacant land and rental properties owned by foreigners or the elderly. The fraudster then poses as the property owner and attempts to sell it, wiring the proceeds to their bank account before the real owner catches on. Learn more about the scheme here.
• Notary fraud occurs when a fraudster impersonates a Notary Public and forges notary seals to create a fraudulent deed. Most counties have notaries available for certifying documents for public records, but there are no firm regulations for verifying the legitimacy of a notary seal, making it easier for criminals to forge them. The fraudster will likely refuse to meet in person for the closing, and all communication will be done via email.
PROTECTING YOUR BUSINESS
According to CertifID, today’s consumers “prioritize accountability over education. They want to know that if something goes wrong, they are covered. Insurance and guarantees, not just awareness, are what drive trust.” Real estate businesses are advised to apply a layered approach of education, software, and insurance to their security systems, to best combat fraud. To protect yourself and help prevent cybercrime from attacking your business, be sure to take proactive steps like the ones below:
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Train your employees: Train your employees to spot phishing emails and texts, avoid suspicious downloads, protect sensitive information, and create strong passwords.
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Secure your networks: Safeguard your information by using a firewall, encryption, and secure wi-fi network. Establish offline or off-site backup networks, and maintain a routine schedule for data backup and restoration testing.
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Require strong passwords: Improve your cybersecurity with password requirements, such as 10 characters or more and a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters.
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Use multifactor authentication (MFA): Require additional information to access sensitive information, such as a security code sent to your phone.
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Invest in a cybersecurity team: One of the best ways to protect your business is by employing professional help. Finding and maintaining employees dedicated to keeping your company digitally secure is a huge step toward long-term cybersecurity.
REGULATORY OUTLOOK
In 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) expanded its cyber-related regulations by requiring certain entities to establish, maintain, and enforce transparency with written policies and procedures reasonably designed to assess cybersecurity risks. For more information, click here.
President Trump’s Cyber Security for America strategy provides a direction for federal cybersecurity policy in 2026. Built around six core pillars, the strategy prioritizes streamlined regulation, deeper public-private coordination, and a more aggressive position in disrupting criminal cyber activity. It also reinforces federal expectations around modernizing systems, advancing zero-trust processes, improving incident-reporting readiness, and strengthening resilience across critical infrastructure sectors.
For the title insurance industry, these priorities translate into heightened scrutiny on secure transaction workflows, stronger protections against wire fraud, and more rigorous safeguards for sensitive customer data. Title organizations that invest now in cyber-ready infrastructure, such as secure email, encrypted document exchange, incident-response planning, and workforce training, will be better positioned to meet evolving federal expectations and stay aligned with federal regulatory standards.
