JUNE 2021
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OFFICIAL MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FOR SAN ANTONIO AREA REALTORS ®
Legal & Ethics
IN THIS ISSUE: • SABOR Charity Involvement • Legal & Ethics: Wire Fraud and Real Estate Transactions • April Home Sales Gain Speed As Summer Begins • Upcoming Board Events
Wire Fraud and Real Estate Transactions
• Welcome New Affiliate Members • Get to Know Your City • Thank You to Our Advertisers
SABOR Charity Involvment The San Antonio Board of REALTORS® is an advocate for community involvement and actively participates with our two charities of choice: SAMMinistries and the San Antonio Food Bank. These charities reflect the values and goals of our members and help establish SABOR members as community partners. Each year SABOR members participate in numerous activities with both charities, read on to learn about some of the projects we’ve accomplished this year and to find out how you can get involved. In the first six months of 2021, SABOR members have been busy serving the San Antonio community. In March, members of SABOR’s REALTOR® Image and Community Outreach Committee came together to stuff over 1,000 Easter eggs for the annual Easter Egg Hunt at SAMMinistries on April 1st. The event was a joyous occasion for the children at SAMMinistries’ Transitional Living and Learning Center and there was even a special visit from the Easter Bunny! On April 1st, SABOR’s REALTOR® Image and Community Outreach Committee kicked off their “Nuts About the Food Bank” peanut butter contest. SABOR members were encouraged to enter their companies into the contest to compete against each other to see who can collect the most jars of peanut butter and win the “Peanut Butter Cup.” The contest is running through June 30th and SABOR members have been busy collecting donations. So far, we’ve had over 2,000 jars donated! There’s still time to enter the contest if you are interested in participating. Email communications@sabor.com if you would like more information. Also, in partnership with the San Antonio Food Bank, SABOR members volunteered on
April 27th for a morning of sorting and packing food. Our volunteers were able to help check expiration dates, sort food and get it packaged to be distributed to local families in need. Our next volunteer day at the Food Bank is coming up on September 16th, be sure to save the date! In April, SABOR’s REALTOR® Image and Community Outreach Committee delivered their first appreciation basket of year to the Schertz Police Department! The appreciation baskets are designed to show the gratitude of SABOR members to first responders in our area. Last year we were able to donate six baskets and this year we are hoping to do even more. If you are interested in sponsoring a basket, please contact Particia@sabor.com for more information. On May 3rd, SABOR members got their hands dirty gardening and cleaning up flower beds during the “Planting Hope” event at SAMMinistries. The February freeze took a toll on the flower beds and prayer garden at SAMM’s Transitional Living and Learning Center and SABOR volunteers were able to replant their front flower beds and revitalize the prayer garden. While SABOR members have already shown great support for their community this year, there are still more volunteer opportunities to come. This summer, SABOR members will join forces with SAMMinistries to help supply back to school uniforms for the children at the SAMM shelter. Also, this fall during “REALTORS® Are Good Neighbors Volunteer Days,” SABOR members will be partnering with local charities for a week of service. Make sure to follow SABOR on social media and whitelist emails from communications@ sabor.com to stay up to date with the latest volunteer opportunities.
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KEEPING POSTED El e v
By now you may have heard about the growing number of incidents of wire fraud associated with real estate transactions. Such issues may occur when a hacker sends a seeming legitimate email to a REALTOR® indicating a change in the wiring instructions and that email is forwarded to the consumer. It could also happen if a hacker sends a legitimate looking email to the title company that changes the wiring instructions. Regardless, such situations can cause a lot of havoc to the consumer and the agent representing them. The following is a nonexhaustive list of tips that could help reduce the risk of wire fraud: a. Inform your client at the beginning of the transaction about the risk of wire fraud. It is useful to have your client acknowledge this notice in writing. b. Instruct your client to verify all instructions using an independently verified number. c. Create a policy to never communicate wiring instructions or other sensitive financial information via email. Let your client know that you will never communicate these types of instructions via email and include language regarding this policy in your written notice to your client. d. Create and implement email security processes. Some procedures you could implement include keeping your antivirus and other security services current, establishing a password policy where you regularly change your passwords and not opening unsolicited emails or suspicious email attachments. e. Report all suspicious emails or concerns to the financial institution transferring the funds and to the FBI. f. Double check your insurance policy to make sure that you have the necessary coverage to address claims that may arise from wire fraud issues. While the above suggestions may not prevent all incidents of wire fraud they could help prevent some.
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