HUD TAKES ACTION IN FINAL DAYS OF OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

HUD Takes Action

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The Obama Administration has taken a slew of steps to cement its legacy in its final days, including addressing issues in housing.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Friday awarded funds to support both homeless youth and aging-in-place seniors, and issued a final rule regarding household lead exposure in children. ​

Homeless youth in ten communities will receive $33 million through the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YDHP), while aging-in-place seniors in HUD-assisted housing will receive $15 million.

The YDHP provides funds for permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing and transitional housing, as well as host homes and other programs. The communities awarded include Connecticut ($6.6 million), Seattle/King County, Wash. ($5.4 million) and Austin/Travis County, Texas ($5.2 million).

"A stable home is the foundation for so many other opportunities in a young person’s life," said HUD Secretary Julian Castro in a statement on the youth homelessness grant. "As a former mayor, I know that some of the most innovative ideas come from the close working relationships that occur at the local level. These local programs are proof of that."

Grants awarded to aging-in-place seniors in HUD-assisted housing will cover costs related to hiring full- and part-time help through the Supportive Services Demonstration for Elderly Households in HUD-Assisted Multifamily Housing.

​"It is so important that we afford our seniors the opportunity to live independently," Castro said in a statement on the aging-in-place grant. "These grants will help owners of HUD-assisted senior developments to offer the services that will allow seniors to remain in their homes for as long as they can."

The final rule on household lead exposure in children changes the definition of "elevated blood lead level" to match the more stringent threshold from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), lowering the level to 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood.

The change allows for faster response to children age 6 and younger in HUD-assisted housing who are exposed to lead-based paint. If the child is found to have an elevated blood lead level, the housing provider must test the home and other potential sources of exposure within 15 days, and ensure the hazards are controlled within 30 days, among other mandates.

"Were now able to say that the federal government will speak with one voice when it comes to protecting children from potentially dangerous lead," said Castro in a statement on the rule. "By aligning our standard with CDCs guidance, we can respond more quickly in cases when a child who lives in federally-assisted housing shows early signs of having elevated levels of lead in their blood."

Source: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

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THE LATEST EVOLUTION OF REAL ESTATE WIRE FRAUD

Real Estate Wire Fraud

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Most articles about real estate fraud have focused on the same scenario: hackers breaking into professionals email accounts to learn about upcoming transactions, emailing the buyer to wire money to the hackers account. In reality, there are many other ways hackers insert themselves into communications, such as tricking the real estate professional into installing malicious software on their computer or phone, or changing escrow instructions (or other disbursements) at the office of the real estate professional via email.

Hacking can also be done by less sophisticated methods, including phone, fax or inter-office memo. The latest evolution of the scam, however, is truly insidious.

1. A hacker obtains a REALTOR(R)’s transaction management/e-signature system login credentials by using a phishing email that looks like it’s from the transaction management system.​

• The user first types their credentials into the fake transaction management website, then are forwarded to the real one where their credentials work. They never even notice they’ve been phished. They just think they mistyped a password the first time.

2. The hacker logs into the transaction system to identify target transactions and collect information to fool participants.
3. If the agent uses the same credentials for both email and the transaction system, the hacker now has access to the agents email.

• The hacker may set up an email-filtering rule so emails from the client "skip the inbox" and go right to the hacker.
• Emails to clients can now be sent from the agents real email address. It’s not a spoofed email (which only looks like it’s from the agents account).
• Changing their email password may help, but at this point, the hacker only needs to spoof future emails-and unless the agent notices the filtering rule, the hacker still has access to those email conversations.

4. Because the hacker has information about the mortgage and title company from the transaction system, they can spoof an email from those parties, too. When a client receives a (spoofed) email from multiple parties - which confirms each other’s message – they’re more likely to trust each of those emails.

5. From that point, it’s a typical wire fraud scenario: At the appropriate time, the client is told to wire funds to an account the hacker has access to.

This is only one variation of many that Clareity has seen "in the wild."

Clareity Consulting has written a paper that more thoroughly explains the wire fraud issue and provides concrete guidance on how to reduce the risk. Download the paper by visiting clareity.com/reducing-the-risk-of-real-estate-wire-fraud.

Matt Cohen is chief technology officer at Clareity Consulting.
For more information, please visit www.clareity.com.

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