Article by Hayden-Anne Breedlove In January, the Virginia Land Title Association launched its first Book Club discussion. The inaugural selection was The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-First Century’s Greatest Dilemma by Mustafa Suleyman. The book examines the rapid emergence of powerful technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, and the challenges societies face in managing them … Continue reading The Coming Wave: Reflections from VLTA’s First Book Club
By Hayden-Anne Breedlove, CounselOld Republic National Title Insurance Company Fraud has rapidly evolved into one of the most significant sources of title insurance claims, particularly as real estate transactions increasingly rely on electronic communication, remote closings, and digital documentation. Schemes that once occurred sporadically are now routine, sophisticated, and alarmingly effective. I. False Owners and … Continue reading The Claims Corner: Fraud in the Modern Real Estate Transaction and Lessons From Recent Claims
Article by Genady Vishnevetsky The Digital Pickpocket in Your Computer Imagine a thief who can quietly walk through your office, photographing every password you jot down, every client file you open, and every financial document on your desk—all without you ever realizing they were there. That's basically what an infostealer does to your computer. Infostealers … Continue reading The Silent Threat Targeting Real Estate Professionals: Understanding Infostealers
ALTA Files Amicus Brief Supporting Fidelity’s Challenge to Rule Article by Jeremy Yohe with ALTA FinCEN’s final rule requiring certain industry professionals to report information to the agency about non-financed transfers of residential real estate to a legal entity or trust will have a significant financial and process impact on title and settlement companies. The rule, which … Continue reading Title and Settlement Companies Face Substantial Cost to Comply With FinCEN’s AML Real Estate Rule
Article by Tina Merritt with permission to reprint, originally published in the THE ROANOKE TIMES. In today’s business world, AI is already a practical tool for small businesses like mine, not just a futuristic idea. It’s changing how we communicate with clients, create marketing strategies, and streamline operations. It is important for Virginia elected officials … Continue reading Ensuring AI Policy Works for Us All
Article by Michael Holden A new federal pilot program that experiments with an automated title review process to assess title risk remains under scrutiny as the program gains steam with two title insurance underwriters now approved as vendors for the duration of the pilot. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Title Acceptance Pilot, launched in … Continue reading Walking the Tightrope: Protecting Property Ownership in the Age of Technology
Article by Michael Holden, Author of The Ramblings of a Title Man and Vice President of AmTrust Title Insurance Company. Each year, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) releases a detailed report on the number of cybercrime complaints fielded in the previous year. This year as it marks its 25th anniversary, the agency highlighted … Continue reading IC3 Report Highlights Need for Heightened Cybercrime Awareness
On a beautiful sunny morning in March, the District of Columbia Land Title Association (“DCLTA”) and the Virginia Land Title Association (“VLTA”) jointly hosted the Cybersecurity Summit. This dynamic meeting provided an opportunity for title professionals to learn more about the latest fraud schemes, how to protect against fraud, what to do when a transaction … Continue reading DCLTA & VLTA Cybersecurity Summit Recap
This article was authored by Jessica Sinnott and Robert Pleasants of Old Dominion National Bank. While White Acre Title is the fabricated name of a title agency this narrative was a very accurate depiction of a real-life instance of check fraud in our industry. The news spread through the office of White Acre Title like … Continue reading Check Fraud in the Title Industry: Why Banking With the Right Partner Matters
We do love our Realtors, and they are a vibrant and important part of the transfer of property from one party to another. However, a pattern arises in the outlines below, that many of these fraudulent situations are the result of the realtors being involved in the financial part of the transactions. The additional risk … Continue reading The Claims Corner: Wire Fraud and Property Theft Claims, and the Insurance Responses
The real estate industry has become an increasingly attractive target for cybercriminals in recent years. With vast amounts of sensitive personal and financial data, high-value transactions, and often inadequate security measures, real estate companies face significant cyber risks. Key Cybersecurity Threats Business Email Compromise (BEC) and Wire Fraud BEC scams involve criminals impersonating executives or … Continue reading Cybersecurity Threats in the Real Estate Industry: Risks and Protective Measures
Businesses around the country have seen an increase in the number of fraud and attempted fraud incidents in recent years. In 2022 alone, the FBI reported that business email compromise fraud led to losses exceeding $2.7 billion. 1 Title companies certainly aren't immune to this increase. In fact, they may be more vulnerable to fraud … Continue reading Protecting Your Title Company From Fraud
Title Professionals Spend Significant Time, Resources to Protect Property RightsTitle insurance companies invest heavily in upfront title research and curative work that significantly protects property rights and limits ownership challenges down the road... ALTA Title Insurance Curative Work StudyThe objective of this study is an attempt to quantify the amount of work that goes into … Continue reading What’s New With ALTA – Summer 2024
I was watching an old 1993 episode of The X-Files recently called “Ghost in the Machine.” It’s about an artificial intelligence capable of adaptive learning that starts killing the people trying to shut it down with a virus on a floppy disc. The developer has a prototype “Smart House” that he shows off to Mulder … Continue reading The Truth Is Out There
Generative AI is a branch of artificial intelligence that creates new content by analyzing existing data. It has many potential applications in real estate, such as generating property images, listing descriptions, and personalized marketing campaigns. However, generative AI can also be used for fraud, which poses risks and challenges for the industry. How Generative AI … Continue reading Generative AI Impact on Real Estate
The Digital and Human Connection In 2020, about 13,638 people were victims of wire fraud in the real estate and rental sector in 2020*. Fact is, the most common form of real estate cybercrime is wire fraud. While the majority of wire fraud happens before holiday weekends, as business and life becomes more digitized, the … Continue reading The Latest in Fraud Prevention: Better Practices
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which has been monitoring cyber criminal activity since 2016, received a record number of cybercrime-related complaints from the American public in 2020: Nearly 800,000 – a 69-percent year-over-year increase, with reported losses exceeding $4.1 billion. As cyber fraud attacks increase in volume and sophistication, many title companies are … Continue reading Five Things to Consider When Purchasing Cyber Liability Insurance
