Cybersecurity in Real Estate: Protecting Transactions, Financial Data and Your Organization

Cybersecurity in real estate comes down to protecting money and information as they move between people. Every deal runs through a long chain of buyers, sellers, lenders, title companies, attorneys, investors and property managers, and much of that coordination happens by email under tight deadlines. The most effective protections are simple habits, applied the same way on every transaction.

Where the Money Is Most Exposed

Every wire is a point of exposure. For owners and fund managers, that means acquisitions and closings, capital calls, investor distributions, loan draws and routine vendor payments. Deadlines make the risk worse. A closing that has to fund today or a capital call due by Friday leaves little room for a second look, and fraudsters take advantage of that pressure. 

Fraud aimed at these payments falls under what the FBI calls business email compromise, where a fraudster poses as someone the victim trusts and sends new payment instructions. The FBI’s 2025 IC3 report shows business email compromise caused $3.05 billion in reported losses in 2025, and wire transfer or ACH was the payment method in 86% of reported cases. One case in the report involved homebuyers who received an email impersonating their attorneys and wired more than $449,000 to a fraudulent account. Commercial transactions carry the same risk at larger dollar amounts, and a spoofed capital call or distribution notice can reach dozens of investors at once.

Build a Verification Rule Everyone Follows

The strongest defense costs almost nothing. It’s a firm rule that payment instructions never change by email alone, applied to every person on every deal. It also protects the people on the other side of the transaction, who may not have strong controls of their own. Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Confirm any new or changed wire instructions by calling a phone number already on file, never one included in the request
• Require two people to approve outgoing wires above a set amount
• Tell investors, buyers and vendors early that the organization will never change payment instructions by email
• Slow down any request marked urgent, since urgency is exactly what a fraudster wants

A rule only works if it holds under deadline pressure, so the people who approve wires need clear authority to delay a payment until it’s verified.

Protect Investor, Tenant and Financial Data

Real estate organizations hold a lot of sensitive information, including investor bank details and tax records, tenant applications, lease files and the financial models behind every deal. Access to investor portals, property management platforms and accounting systems should match each person’s role, and multifactor authentication (MFA), which asks for a second proof of identity at login, should be required on all of them. Property managers, brokers and other vendors with system access belong in the same review, with access removed when a relationship ends. Old files deserve attention too. Closed deals, former investors and past tenants can leave years of sensitive records in shared drives and inboxes, and a clear retention schedule limits what’s exposed if an account is compromised.

Data security is also an investor trust issue. Investors expect accurate, timely reporting, and a breach that exposes their information raises questions about how carefully the rest of their money is being managed.

Know What to Do in the First Hour

Speed matters more than anything once a fraudulent wire goes out. The FBI’s guidance is to contact the bank immediately and request a recall of the funds, then file a complaint at ic3.gov with full transaction details. Acting fast works. In the $449,000 closing case, the FBI froze the fraudulent account after the buyers filed a complaint, and the full amount was still there. Across all of 2025, the FBI’s Recovery Asset Team froze $679 million of the $1.16 billion in attempted thefts it worked on, a 58% success rate. 

Every organization should write this sequence down before it’s needed, including who calls the bank, who contacts IT and legal counsel and who notifies affected investors or clients. Insurance belongs in that plan as well, since cyber and crime policies can cover funds transfer fraud in different ways, and it’s worth confirming coverage with the broker before a loss happens.

Make Verification Part of Every Deal

Real estate runs on trust between parties who depend on each other to move money correctly. A few consistent habits protect that trust, and they cost far less than a single misdirected wire. Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October is a good time to put them in writing.

James Moore Technology Services helps real estate owners and fund managers protect transactions, investor data and the systems behind them. Contact us when you’re ready to talk through where your organization stands.

All content provided in this article is for informational purposes only. Matters discussed in this article are subject to change. For up-to-date information on this subject please contact a James Moore professional. James Moore will not be held responsible for any claim, loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of any information within these pages or any information accessed through this site.