How does closing wire fraud actually happen?▼
Usually through a compromised email account somewhere in the deal: an agent, a buyer, a lender, a seller or someone at your firm. The attacker reads the thread quietly, learns the closing date and amounts, then sends convincing wiring instructions from the real account or a lookalike domain at the last minute. The money goes to a mule account and moves fast. That’s why the defense is procedural as much as technical: never send or accept wiring changes by email alone.
What should we do if a client wired money to the wrong account?▼
Move immediately. Have the client call their bank and ask for a wire recall, call your own bank, and report the fraud to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center as quickly as possible. Notify your malpractice carrier and title underwriter. Then we investigate your side: which mailbox was involved, whether forwarding rules exist and what else the attacker could see. Your counsel decides on client communications and any notification obligations.
How do we verify a mortgage payoff letter is real?▼
Don’t trust the phone number or email on the letter itself. Call the lender at a number from their official website, the borrower’s statement or a known-good contact list, confirm the payoff amount and wire details, and log who you spoke with. Watch for payoff letters that arrive by email from unusual addresses or that change account details from a previous payoff. We help build that check into your closing checklist so it happens on every file.
Does our firm need the same controls as a title company?▼
If you act as a title agent, your underwriter likely expects you to follow ALTA Best Practices, which include escrow account controls, privacy and information security, and wire procedures. Even if you don’t issue title policies, those practices are a sensible benchmark for any firm handling closing funds. Your state bar’s trust account rules still apply on top. We help you put the technical pieces in place and document them for underwriter reviews.
Our closers work from home sometimes. Is that a risk for closings?▼
It can be managed. We issue encrypted, managed laptops with endpoint protection, require MFA and a secure connection to your closing software and storage, and keep banking access limited to dedicated workstations or tightly controlled devices. Personal home computers stay off firm systems. With those in place, closers can prepare files remotely without making their home network the weak point in a transaction. We also cover shared home Wi-Fi, printing of closing packages at home and what to do with signed originals until they’re back at the office.
Can you support commercial real estate practices too?▼
Yes. Commercial deals bring bigger wires, more parties, lease abstracts, environmental reports, loan documents and sometimes 1031 exchange intermediaries holding funds between sales. We apply the same verification discipline to every disbursement, set up secure data rooms for due diligence materials with access limited to the deal team, and protect the email threads with lenders, brokers and investors. Commercial clients often send security questionnaires, and we help you answer them accurately.
Do you provide Real Estate Law Firms IT Services in Houston and nearby areas?▼
Yes. LayerLogix is based in the Greater Houston area and delivers real estate law firms IT services to businesses across Houston and the surrounding communities, including The Woodlands, Spring, Katy, Sugar Land, Conroe, Cypress, and Pearland. For most Houston-area clients we can be on-site the same day when something needs hands-on attention, and our help desk is available during business hours, with after-hours emergency support. Call 713-571-2390 to check coverage for your specific address.
What does Real Estate Law Firms IT Services cost for a Houston business?▼
Pricing depends on your size and what you need, so we do not publish a one-size-fits-all number — but Houston businesses generally pay a flat, predictable monthly fee rather than surprise hourly bills. We start with a free, no-obligation assessment of your current setup, then give you a clear quote in plain English with no hidden costs. That way you know exactly what you are getting and what it costs before you commit.