October brought a surge in “Escrow Phishing.” Scammers monitored public property records to identify homes nearing closing. They then sent perfectly timed emails to the buyers, impersonating their title company or lawyer, claiming the wiring instructions had changed at the last minute. Because the timing was so precise, many buyers complied without double-checking, wiring their entire life savings—sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars—directly into a scammer’s account. This remains one of the most devastating financial scams in the real estate market.