CLE ELUM, Wash. — This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com
A Cle Elum-area resident nearly lost $700,000 to a wire fraud scam.
The resident, who was trying to complete a legitimate real estate purchase, was targeted by scammers, the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office reported via a Facebook post Monday.
The resident got an email that appeared to be from his title company and contained wire instructions to make a large payment. The resident followed the directions and sent the money.
He then followed up with a phone call to his title company, which told him the email address — which used the name of the company but had @gmail.com — was a scam.
The resident was able to contact his bank in time to stop the payment, which authorities noted would have likely gone overseas and been unrecoverable.
Company may have been compromised by phishing email
Detectives determined the title company could have been breached by a phishing email scam. In phishing scams, employees are lured to click on malicious links that give scammers access to information later used for fraud.
Authorities stated the company identified other customers whose information may have been compromised and is in contact with them.
“Tragically, scam and fraud is a high-stakes international industry in the modern world,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “Though this is the first time we’ve learned about this particular fraud happening in our county, financial corporations have confirmed it’s happening nationwide.”
Safety tips for transferring money
When transferring funds, law enforcement recommends verifying the address by calling published numbers, being wary of email-only instructions, and treating urgency as a red flag.
Those with questions about a pending transaction, or anyone who thinks they have been a victim of fraud, are urged to call the sheriff’s office at 509-962-7525.
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