The Future of Fraud Prevention is Human

In 2022, CertifID identified over $1.4B in suspected fraudulent real estate transactions. It’s a staggering amount, compounded by a 145% YoY increase in wire fraud reports.

These metrics are a sobering reality. Wire fraud is a dynamic challenge that requires persistence to fight effectively. Everyone — from the title agency to the real estate agent — plays a role in combating fraud.

How does one tackle a problem that grows in complexity every year and involves so many people? Make no mistake: it’s a monumental task. Adapting to the tactics bad actors use to commit wire fraud is a part of the solution. But fraudsters pivot often and operationalize new tactics quickly.

The key, we’ve discovered at CertifID, is to focus on trust. Here’s why.
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Trust is inherent in any transaction

‍Humans are social beings by nature. Trusting one another is ingrained in our genetics; it’s how we’ve progressed as a species.

Unfortunately, fraudsters know this. In many cases of fraud, they win not by employing new technological deceptions but by exploiting trust on the other side of the screen. It’s a sneaky practice called social engineering. And it is why working around the vectors of human interaction is critical to our approach to fraud prevention at CertifID.

No matter how integrated technology is into our processes or practices, people are a necessary participant during transactions. Buying and selling real estate is, in a more primal sense, finding shelter. One person (or persons) helping another find “home.” It’s complicated. It’s stressful. It’s exciting. And it’s all too easy for fraudsters to take advantage of someone’s trust and, ultimately, the transaction.
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Fraud prevention is about enhancing trust

‍You cannot remove trust from the transaction. Trust must exist from the start. It’s the underlying connection between every participant and click, from the first consultation between an agent and a buyer to the software you use to wire funds. That's why establishing trust is so important.

Let’s be clear: we don’t view trust as a problem to solve. Instead, it’s a guiding principle and essential component, baked into every concept and product enhancement at CertifID. 

Our goal is not to eliminate the human factors of trust in the transaction, but improve upon them. We ask: how can we help people scale their trust? Does our technology create trust and move the transaction forward? And when and how do we provide stop gates if cracks are beginning to show?

We want to create confidence — not conflict — during the transaction. Participants shouldn’t feel burdened by layers of security technology, but empowered. While a healthy amount of skepticism is always helpful in staying vigilant, the goal of our technology is to enhance the natural trust between humans and eliminate the typical anxieties associated with the transaction.
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More trust = less fraud

‍No one is immune to cybercrime. It takes a collective effort, which is tough when considering the complexity of large financial and commercial transactions. But it’s not impossible. 

By centralizing our efforts around trust, we can build more human-centric technology and a more collaborative real estate experience for the consumer. We’ll all move faster — and smarter — when we trust each other from the beginning.

As we plan for the future of fraud prevention in 2024 and beyond, we’re doubling down on our focus on trust and collaboration. To do this we must bring together our multi-layered, enterprise-level cybersecurity, by achieving milestones like SOC2 Type II certification, and our passion to improve, enhance, and harden the uniquely human aspect of trust. And by leveraging trust augmented by security technology, we can complete deals quickly, efficiently, and at scale.

To find out how you can use CertifID to create more trust during your transactions, set up some time to talk to one of our experts. We’re always here to help.