In the last year, several states introduced, and some have passed, data privacy legislation. This year’s legislative session will include several more bills designed to protect consumers’ privacy. During this same period, wire fraud has more than doubled, as fraudsters are getting more knowledgeable about whom to target in the real estate transaction.
Both issues significantly impact the escrow industry and two industry leaders will share their insights during the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) June 18-20 in Phoenix.
Heather Wyant, president, Arizona State Escrow Association, will be speaking on consumer data protection and wire fraud with Juliana Tu, president of the California Escrow Association. The session will discuss steps states are taking regarding consumer data privacy, including California’s Consumer Privacy Act and the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, as well as the impact of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In addition, they will discuss ways industry members can help protect consumers from being the victims of wire fraud.
Wyant, an assistant vice president for Fidelity National Title Agency, noted that the corporate compliance education modules she completes yearly includes a section on data privacy and that Fidelity has strict policies and procedures when it comes to the protection of consumer data.
“I’m also going to be speaking about wire fraud,” she said. “Being part of the American Escrow Association, we returned from our annual trip to D.C., where immediately following a wire-fraud issues meeting between the FBI and our industry partners, hosted by the National Association of Realtors; our attending Executive Board members discussed from our perspective, wire fraud-related concerns – including educating consumers.”
Wyant said she also plans to provide scenarios and examples of how fraudsters are conducting their schemes, whether by calling buyers and sellers and impersonating escrow officers to change wiring instructions to get the money diverted.
“I want to talk about some of the statistics that I can share and really hit it home with current stories of what is actually happening and how people in escrow are preventing some of these scenarios from occurring,” she said.
“I’m hoping that people will be able to take away some new ideas that they can start implementing right away to try to educate their buyers, sellers and agents on what to look for [in a wire fraud scheme],” Wyant continued. “With wire fraud, I think the more information that we spread out there, is only going to benefit others.”
For more information on the 2019 NS3, including the agenda and a list of speakers, click here. You can register for NS3 online or click here to get information on how to register via mail, fax or phone.