Q: I am closing on a home purchase next week, and I just received an email from my title company with instructions for wiring my down payment. It says their bank account has changed and asks me to send the funds right away. It looks real and uses the correct names and numbers, but something about it feels off. Is this normal? — Marcus

A: Trust that feeling. Before you move a single dollar, stop and verify the instructions by phone, using a number you already have for the title company, not the one printed in that email. If they are local, it would be even better to go down and verify in person.

Independent verification is probably the best protection against what has become the most expensive scam in real estate, and that gut instinct telling you something is off may be the only warning you get.

Understanding it makes it easy to spot.

Here is how the scam works: Criminals quietly break into the email account of a title company, real estate agent or lender and watch the deal for weeks. They learn the parties, the property, the closing date, and the exact dollar amounts. Then, right before closing, they send you a message that looks just like the real thing, often from an email address that is off by a single letter, telling you the bank account has changed and the money must go out now.

Shortly after you wire it, the funds leave the country and become extremely difficult to recover. The scammers may try this on you, as the buyer, or even on the title company; they will strike wherever they see an opportunity.

Here is how you protect yourself:

—Before sending a wire, call an independently verifiable phone number to confirm every wire instruction. Use the number from the signed contract, the company’s official website or another source you know is legitimate.

—If you are local to the closing agent, call first, visit during business hours to confirm the instructions face-to-face.

—Never call the number in the suspect email, because the criminal will happily answer that line and assure you it is real.

—Treat any change to wiring instructions as fraud until proven otherwise, since legitimate title companies and law firms almost never switch bank accounts mid-closing.

—Be suspicious of pressure and secrecy. Urgency, a demand to send funds immediately, a message that arrives late at night or over a weekend, or a request to keep it quiet are classic signs.

—If you send a wire and later realize something is wrong, act quickly, because recovery is measured in hours, not days. Call your bank immediately, ask for the department that handles wire recalls, and tell them to try to reverse the transaction. Then alert your title company and your closing attorney, and report the theft to law enforcement and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov) right away.

Many victims feel embarrassed or confused and wait, and that delay is exactly what the scammers are counting on.

These are not the only precautions worth taking, but they are the ones that can stop the most common form of this crime.

A closing should be one of the happiest days of your life, not the day your savings disappear. Slow down, pick up the phone, and trust your gut when it tells you something feels off.

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