How Do You Avoid Real Estate Wire Fraud at Closing in Tennessee?

Buying or selling a home in Tennessee is a major financial transaction. At closing, large amounts of money may move between buyers, sellers, lenders, title companies, and escrow accounts. That makes real estate transactions an attractive target for criminals using email compromise, impersonation, and fake payment instructions.

For buyers and sellers in Clarksville, Fort Campbell, Hopkinsville, and surrounding communities, the most important protection is simple:

Never send earnest money, down payment funds, closing funds, or seller proceeds based only on an email or text message. Independently verify every payment instruction before money moves.

This article is consumer-protection guidance, not legal advice. Your title company, lender, and attorney can provide transaction-specific instructions.

Why Tennessee real estate wire fraud is a serious risk

Real estate wire fraud often begins when a criminal gains access to an email account belonging to a buyer, seller, real estate professional, lender, or title company. The criminal may monitor the transaction quietly, learn the closing date and payment amount, and then send a convincing message at the moment funds are expected.

The fraudulent message may:

• Use a familiar name, logo, or email signature
• Refer to the correct property address
• Include the correct closing date
• Use urgent language such as “send today” or “we need this immediately”
• Claim that the title company changed banks
• Provide a new routing number or account number
• Ask you not to call because the closer is unavailable

Some messages are not sent from a completely different address. Instead, criminals may use a lookalike domain or a compromised account that appears legitimate. That is why reviewing the sender name alone is not enough.

The National Association of REALTORS® consumer guide on real estate wire fraud recommends independently verifying instructions before transferring funds.

Clarksville’s military buyers face additional exposure

Clarksville and the Fort Campbell area have a large military population, including buyers who are relocating from another state or completing a purchase while deployed. Remote closings can be convenient, but distance can also make it harder to recognize whether a message or phone call is genuine.

Military buyers who are out of state or deployed are among the most common targets in the Clarksville market because they may:

• Communicate primarily by email or phone
• Have limited face-to-face contact with the title company
• Be working across time zones
• Be handling a purchase while managing orders, travel, or deployment
• Need to send funds without visiting the closing office

If you are buying remotely, establish your verification process before you receive payment instructions. Save the title company’s verified phone number in your phone, and confirm the proper payment procedure with your Haus representative and closing professional early in the transaction.

Legitimate closing instructions are the only payment instructions you should follow

Your real estate agent can help coordinate communication, but the title company, escrow holder, or closing attorney is generally the party responsible for providing official instructions for closing funds and disbursement.

You should not rely on:

• A forwarded email
• A reply to an old email thread
• A text message containing account details
• A voicemail asking you to call a new number
• Instructions from an unfamiliar “assistant” or “transaction coordinator”
• A last-minute change that has not been confirmed directly

Even if payment instructions appear to come from someone you know, stop and verify them through a trusted channel. Do not call the phone number included in a suspicious email. Instead, use a phone number from the title company’s official website, your original closing documents, a previously verified business card, or a number you confirmed at the beginning of the transaction.

Use this verification process before sending funds

1. Stop before clicking or replying. Do not open unexpected attachments or follow links in a message requesting money.
2. Call the title company or closing attorney using a known number.
3. Ask whether the payment request is genuine.
4. Read the complete instructions aloud, including the bank name, routing number, account number, beneficiary name, and reference information.
5. Ask the closer to confirm the amount and purpose of the payment.
6. Call again immediately before sending if the instructions were provided more than a short time ago.
7. Request confirmation that the funds were received after the transfer.

A legitimate closing professional should understand why you are taking these precautions.

What Earnnest changes about the earnest money process

Earnest money is different from the final funds required at closing. Haus provides a secure earnest money submission page for qualifying Tennessee and Kentucky transactions through Earnnest.

Earnnest is a digital earnest money platform that can move the deposit through an electronic payment process instead of requiring a buyer to send a wire based on emailed bank instructions. The platform provides payment tracking and receipts, and deposits may take one to three business days to reach the escrow account after the buyer’s bank processes the transaction.

That timing matters. If your purchase agreement requires earnest money by a specific deadline, do not wait until the last minute. Ask your Haus representative and the escrow holder:

• Whether Earnnest is available for your transaction
• Which property and amount are shown in the payment request
• When the deposit must be initiated
• When the escrow holder expects to receive the funds
• How you will receive a payment or deposit receipt

Earnnest can reduce the risk associated with exchanging bank information by email, but you should still verify the request. Confirm by phone with your Haus representative or the escrow holder that the request was intentionally created for your transaction.

Also remember that an Earnnest request for earnest money does not automatically replace the title company’s instructions for your down payment, loan funds, cash-to-close amount, or seller proceeds. Use only the payment method and instructions authorized for each specific part of the transaction.

Why escrow and disbursement timing matters

A wire appearing as “sent” in your bank account does not necessarily mean the escrow holder has received, cleared, and accepted the funds. Banks may have processing cutoffs, weekends, holidays, fraud reviews, or other delays.

At closing, the title company may also need to confirm that:

• The buyer’s funds have cleared
• The lender has authorized loan disbursement
• Required documents have been signed
• The deed has been recorded or the closing conditions have been satisfied
• Existing liens and mortgages can be paid
• Seller proceeds can be released

The exact process varies by transaction and closing provider. Ask your closer when funds must be received, whether a wire must arrive before signing, and when seller proceeds are expected to be disbursed.

Do not assume that a bank account number is valid simply because a transfer was accepted. Follow up with the closing office and retain all receipts and confirmation numbers.

Haus expert contribution: Randy Whetsell on protecting client funds

Randy Whetsell of Haus Realty & Management emphasizes that protecting client funds requires a verification process, not just confidence in an email.

“Our clients should never feel pressured to send money simply because a message says it is urgent. The safest practice is to pause, call a trusted Haus or title-company number, and verify the payment details before any funds are sent.”

Haus directs clients to use established transaction procedures, including the secure earnest money page when applicable. The team also encourages buyers and sellers to contact the office directly when they receive unexpected instructions, changed account information, or a request that does not match earlier communication.

For additional general transaction questions, review the Haus frequently asked questions page. For a transaction-specific concern, contact Haus directly rather than responding to a suspicious message.

What sellers should verify

Sellers can be targeted when criminals impersonate a title company, lender, payoff department, or closing attorney. A fraudulent message may instruct you to send mortgage payoff information or provide a different account for your sale proceeds.

Before closing, ask the title company how your proceeds will be delivered. If you choose a wire, independently verify the instructions and confirm whether the company requires a completed wire authorization form, identification, or a callback confirmation.

Be especially cautious if someone asks you to change your proceeds instructions shortly before closing. Call the known closing contact and confirm the change verbally using information you already trust.

What to do immediately if you sent money to a fraudulent account

If you believe you sent funds to the wrong account, act immediately. Do not wait to see whether the money comes back.

1. Call your bank’s fraud department immediately. Request a wire recall, freeze, or other emergency recovery action.
2. Contact the title company, escrow holder, lender, and Haus representative using known phone numbers.
3. Provide the payment amount, date, destination account, confirmation number, and all related messages.
4. Ask your bank whether it can contact the receiving bank directly.
5. Report the incident to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov.
6. Preserve emails, text messages, call records, receipts, and screenshots. Do not delete evidence.
7. Consider contacting law enforcement and a qualified attorney for guidance specific to your circumstances.

Time matters because the receiving account may be emptied quickly.

Your closing safety checklist

Before sending any real estate funds in Tennessee:

• Confirm the amount and purpose of the payment.
• Use only instructions authorized by the title company, escrow holder, or closing attorney.
• Call a known number to verify every account and routing number.
• Never rely on a last-minute email change.
• Confirm Earnnest requests directly before paying earnest money.
• Allow enough time for ACH or bank processing.
• Ask when funds will be considered received and when disbursement will occur.
• Enable two-factor authentication on your email and financial accounts.
• Call Haus if anything seems unusual.

If you are buying or selling in Clarksville, Fort Campbell, Hopkinsville, or the surrounding area, please call the Haus office to verify closing details before sending funds. Haus Realty & Management can be reached at (931) 201-9694 or at 2693 Townsend Ct, Suite C, Clarksville, TN 37043. A short verification call can help protect the funds connected to one of the most important transactions you will ever make.