Reported real estate fraud losses reached $275.1 million in 2025, up from about $173 million in 2024, across 12,368 complaints, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center as summarized by the American Land Title Association. Most closing fraud still runs through email: a scammer gets into an inbox, watches a deal, and sends payment instructions that look real at exactly the right moment.
What is changing is the payment method. Buyers increasingly pay their earnest money deposit through an online portal or a link from their title company. That is safer than wiring money from an email, but it gives scammers a new thing to fake: the link itself.
- Scammers now send fake “pay your deposit here” links that copy a title company's branding or a real payment portal.
- The timing is the giveaway: the link arrives right when you expect it, often with urgency about a deadline.
- Before paying, call your title company at a number you already have, not one in the email, and confirm the link and the amount.
- If you paid a fake link, call your bank immediately and report it at ic3.gov. Speed matters.
How the fake link scam works
It follows the same playbook as wire fraud at a Florida closing, with a link in place of account numbers:
- The scammer finds the deal. Often by getting into an agent's, lender's or buyer's email, or from public listing and contract activity.
- They wait for the deposit. Earnest money is usually due within a few days of the contract, so the timing is predictable.
- They send a link. The email or text uses the title company's name and logo and points to a lookalike payment page, sometimes on a cloned title company website.
- The buyer pays. The page collects a bank transfer or card payment, and sometimes the buyer's bank login too.
Because the email arrives at the moment the buyer expects it and mentions the right property and amount, it does not feel like a scam.
Red flags
- The link comes from an email address that is slightly off: an extra letter, a different ending, or a free email service instead of the company's domain.
- The message says the “usual” method changed, or asks you to pay a different way than your contract or title company described.
- Urgency: “pay today or the contract is void.”
- The payment page asks for your online banking username and password.
- The web address on the payment page does not match the title company's real website.
- A QR code in an email or PDF instead of a link you can inspect.
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Before you pay any deposit
- Get the payment method in writing at the start. Ask your title company how they collect deposits before the contract is signed, so a “change” stands out.
- Call to verify. Use the phone number from the title company's real website or your agent, never the one in the email with the link. Confirm the amount and how you will receive the link.
- Type the address yourself. If the title company uses a payment portal, go to their website directly instead of clicking.
- Never enter your bank password on a page you reached from an email.
- Keep the receipt and confirm with the title company that they received the deposit.
A real title company will never be upset that you called to check. If anyone pressures you not to verify, stop.
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If you already paid
- Call your bank right away and ask them to stop or reverse the payment and to contact the receiving bank. The first hours matter most.
- File a report at ic3.gov, the FBI's complaint center, and with local police.
- Tell your title company and agent so they can check whether their email was compromised and warn others on the deal.
- Change your email password and turn on two-factor login, in case your inbox was the way in.
Whether a deposit can be recovered depends on how it was sent and how fast the banks act. That is why verification before paying matters more than anything after.
How Atlantic Title Firm handles deposits
We tell every buyer at the start of the file how to send funds. We will never email new payment instructions or a changed payment link, and we will always take your call to verify at (561) 396-2692 before you pay. If a deposit dispute comes up later, here is how earnest money disputes work in Florida.
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Submit a Contract →Related Reading
Wire Fraud at a Florida Closing
How wire fraud works and how to stop it.
Fake Title Company Websites
How scammers clone a title company online.
Earnest Money Disputes in Florida
Who gets the deposit when a deal falls apart.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can scammers fake an earnest money payment link?
Yes. Scammers send emails or texts with the title company's name and logo that link to a lookalike payment page. The defense is to call the title company at a number you already have and confirm before paying.
Is paying earnest money online safer than wiring it?
Generally yes, when you reach the real payment portal yourself, because there are no account numbers in an email to swap. The risk is a fake link, so always verify by phone and type the website address yourself.
How do I know a payment link is real?
Call your title company using a number from their real website or your agent, not the email. Confirm the amount and how the link will arrive. Check that the payment page's web address matches the company's real website.
What should I do if I paid a fake payment link?
Call your bank immediately to try to stop or reverse the payment, report it at ic3.gov and to local police, and tell your title company and agent. Change your email password and turn on two-factor login.
Will Atlantic Title Firm ever change payment instructions by email?
No. We will never email new payment instructions or a changed payment link. Call (561) 396-2692 to verify before sending any funds.