Wire Fraud Protection for Real Estate Attorney
The Incident
An attorney handling real estate closings needed to comply with ALTA Best Practices 5.3 for wire transfer security. They had no formal controls in place and an annual audit approaching — handling wires without documented procedures is a liability.
What We Did
- Mapped controls against ALTA 5.3 — email security, TLS encryption, vendor management, employee training
- Delivered compliance documentation — ready for annual audit, with procedures for wire verification
- Hardened wire procedures — dual-verification for wire instructions, DMARC enforcement
Before vs After
| Security Score | 50 | 88 |
| ALTA 5.3 Compliance | No | Yes |
| Wire Procedure Documentation | None | Complete |
| Email Authentication | ✗ | ✓ |
Key Takeaways
ALTA compliance is wire fraud insurance. Documented procedures and DMARC are the difference between a closed deal and a $500k loss.
FAQ
What is ALTA Best Practices 5.3?
The American Land Title Association standard for wire transfer security — requiring documented controls for verifying wire instructions and securing email.
Don't wait for the breach
The best time to harden was before the incident. The second best time is now.
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