Wire-Fraud & BEC Protection

The brief

Wire-Fraud and BEC Protection combines technical controls, such as hardened mailboxes, impersonation detection and alerting, with a written verification procedure for any change to payment instructions. It is designed for brokerages, conveyancers, developers and property managers who move large sums on short timelines.

Real estate is a favourite target for payment fraud because the transaction is high in value, time-boxed, and conducted by email among parties who have never met. An attacker who quietly reads a mailbox for a week can insert a single message at the right moment. The defence is not one product; it is a chain of technical and procedural checks.

Problems this service resolves

• Mailboxes without multi-factor authentication or with legacy sign-in still enabled
• Hidden forwarding rules that copy deal correspondence to an outside address
• Look-alike domains used to impersonate a lawyer, lender or brokerage
• Payment-instruction changes accepted by email with no call-back to a known number
• No agreed process for what staff should do in the first hour after a suspected fraud

What you receive

1. Multi-factor authentication and conditional access on every mailbox
2. Impersonation and look-alike domain detection with alerting on rule changes
3. SPF, DKIM and DMARC configured and monitored for your domains
4. A one-page call-back verification procedure for any payment change
5. Staff and agent briefings using realistic closing-day scenarios
6. An incident runbook covering contact lists, bank notification and evidence preservation

Pricing in plain terms

Starting points for Wire-Fraud & BEC Protection follow our standard ranges. Managed work begins at $89 to $199 per user per month, projects at $2,500 and senior advisory retainers at $1,500 per month, while a security assessment starts at $1,900. GST of 5% applies, a 10% launch discount is offered to new clients, and the first thirty-minute consultation is free.

A disciplined, staged method

Our method for Wire-Fraud & BEC Protection is assess, standardise, protect, report. We assess what exists, define a standard appropriate to a real estate business of your size, close the highest-risk gaps first and then report on progress each month. Along the way we begin with multi-factor authentication and conditional access on every mailbox, because early, visible progress builds confidence in the programme.

Service standards and measurement

We measure the work. For Wire-Fraud & BEC Protection the yardstick is as follows. Measured by the share of mailboxes with MFA, DMARC enforcement status, and the time taken to detect a malicious inbox rule. Targets are objectives, not guarantees, and we state them plainly so you can hold us to them. Where something falls short, we explain why and what we are changing, because the point of a trusted advisor is candour rather than comfort.

Who benefits most

Wire-Fraud & BEC Protection is most valuable to strata corporations, reits & asset managers and brokerages, although the underlying disciplines apply across the industry. The common thread is a business that handles large transactions, personal information and short deadlines. If the problem described above, namely mailboxes without multi-factor authentication or with legacy sign-in still enabled, sounds familiar, you are in the right place.

Working with the systems you already own

We do not start by replacing your tools. Wire-Fraud & BEC Protection typically works with Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Google Workspace security, DMARC reporting, Conditional access and Mail-flow alerting, together with the CRM, MLS or property-management software already in your office. Where a product is not serving you, we say so and explain the options, including the cost of switching, and we remain vendor-neutral throughout.

Starting well

The first two weeks of Wire-Fraud & BEC Protection are about discovery and quick wins: inventorying what you have, confirming ownership of accounts and fixing anything urgent. We then present a plan with priorities, effort and cost. Only when you approve it do we proceed to larger changes, so there are no surprises on the invoice or on the day.

Security and privacy built in

Whatever the service, we treat client information as if it were our own. For Wire-Fraud & BEC Protection that means multi-factor authentication, least-privilege access, encrypted storage and a written record of who can see what. Our guidance aligns with PIPEDA and BC PIPA, and we select vendors with SOC 2-aligned practices wherever the market offers them.

Wire-Fraud & BEC Protection across British Columbia

• Vancouver
• Surrey
• Burnaby
• Richmond
• Langley
• Abbotsford
• Kelowna
• Victoria
• Nanaimo
• Kamloops
• Coquitlam
• North Vancouver

Each city page describes local conditions, scope and pricing for Wire-Fraud & BEC Protection in that community.

Questions and answers

What is Wire-Fraud & BEC Protection?

Layered defences against business email compromise and fraudulent payment instructions in real estate closings, from mailbox security to a verification procedure your staff will follow. It is delivered by ITRE, an IT services and consulting firm for real estate, which means we advise and implement but do not resell hardware for margin.

Who is Wire-Fraud & BEC Protection for?

It is designed for brokerages, developers, property managers, strata corporations and the professionals who work with them. The scope is adjusted to the size of the business, from a small team to a multi-office firm.

How do you measure success?

We agree measures at the outset and report monthly. Measured by the share of mailboxes with MFA, DMARC enforcement status, and the time taken to detect a malicious inbox rule. Targets are objectives rather than guarantees, and we explain any shortfall.

Do you provide legal advice?

No. We implement the technical controls that your lawyer or compliance officer specifies, and we work comfortably alongside them.

Which tools are involved?

Typical tools include Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Google Workspace security, DMARC reporting, Conditional access and Mail-flow alerting. We remain vendor-neutral and will work with what you have wherever it can meet the standard.