Wire fraud prevention and device management for real estate and property firms.

Real estate transactions involve large sums of money, tight deadlines, and sensitive client information, which makes the industry a consistent target for wire transfer fraud and email compromise attacks. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center logged over $446 million in real estate wire fraud losses in 2023 alone. And that figure reflects only what was reported.

The IT Challenge

Real estate IT problems aren’t usually complex. They’re just ignored until they become expensive.

• Wire transfer fraud is the single biggest financial risk. Attackers compromise email accounts, an agent’s, an attorney’s, a title officer’s, and intercept closing communications. They change wire instructions at the last moment and the money moves before anyone realizes. The technical vector is almost always weak email security: no MFA, no anomaly detection, no email authentication. Completely preventable. Often not prevented.
• Agent turnover creates access sprawl. Residential brokerages in particular see constant agent movement. Every agent who joins needs MLS access, email, transaction management tools, and file storage. Every agent who leaves needs all of that revoked immediately. In practice, offboarding is inconsistent, and former agents retain access to systems long after they’ve moved to a competitor.
• Branch offices are scattered and underserved. Commercial firms, property management companies, and large brokerages operate across multiple locations with no consistent IT standard between them. Some offices run on solid infrastructure. Others are held together with consumer-grade routers and expired licenses. That inconsistency is a security gap.
• MLS system security is an afterthought. MLS platforms contain detailed property data, client contact records, and transaction history. Access controls are often set to defaults, meaning broad access for everyone at the brokerage. That’s fine until an account gets compromised or an agent leaves on bad terms.

Wire Fraud & BEC Protection

Wire fraud and business email compromise (BEC) cost U.S. businesses $2.9 billion in 2023 (FBI IC3). For real estate firms managing closings, wire transfers, and transaction disbursements, AdVran’s wire fraud prevention controls include MFA enforcement, email authentication (DMARC/DKIM/SPF), and transaction alert integrations for platforms like DocuSign, SkySlope, and DotLoop. Explore cybersecurity services or compliance services.

AI Is Changing This Industry

AI-powered property valuation tools, automated transaction management platforms, and predictive analytics are becoming standard across residential and commercial real estate. Most of these platforms request broad access to deal data and client information, sometimes more than the tool actually needs to function. AdVran helps real estate firms evaluate AI tools for data access scope and put the access controls in place that protect sensitive transaction and client data from the moment a new tool goes live.