Qualia Enhances Wire Fraud Protection System With New Features

Real estate closing platform Qualia announced on Wednesday a series of security upgrades to its platform. These enhancements are exclusive to Qualia’s Shield solution, a wire fraud detection system designed for title and escrow professionals.

The upgrades start with added protection for low-risk wire transfers of up to $1 million. According to Qualia, the low-risk wire transfer insurance feature is backed by London-based insurance company Lloyd’s.

Email verification is another new security feature on the Shield platform. The Email Link feature allows title and escrow agents to determine whether an email is from known or unknown email addresses.

Other upgrades include public record checks that will verify an individual’s identity across several public datasets, as well as identity verification features that utilize facial recognition and multivariable risk assessments to uncover fraud.

“With these new features and enhancements added to the Shield, Qualia delivers a holistic

solution that protects businesses while simplifying operations and ensuring a secure and efficient closing experience. This approach significantly reduces human errors, mitigates risks, and enhances operational efficiency for title & escrow professionals,” Qualia explained in a press release.

Qualia unveiled these changes in response to a growing trend of fraud tactics. Some examples include artificial intelligence-powered deepfakes and business email compromise (BEC) schemes.

The Shield platform already impacts professionals across the title and escrow industry, according to Qualia. Christine White of KVS Title LLC said that “Shield gives us peace of mind by detecting bad actors before they can impact transactions.”

Qualia’s mission centers on giving title and escrow professionals tools to combat wire fraud threats.

“Title & escrow professionals are acutely aware of the large sums of money and sensitive information that flow through their hands, which make them particularly vulnerable to wire fraud,” said Charlotte Brown, Qualia’s vice president of product and design.

“We want to help the industry bolster its defenses in today’s evolving cybersecurity landscape. Shield offers multiple layers of protection against wire fraud and reduces vulnerable entry points for bad actors with built-in security features.”

About 40% of title and escrow professionals received one or more fraudulent emails per month, according to Qualia’s 2025 Real Estate Fraud Trends report. Nearly all professionals reported that wire fraud attempts either remained stagnant or increased in 2024.

In 2023, losses tied to wire fraud exceeded $12.5 billion, including $145 million in real estate fraud, according to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Homebuyers are also at risk when it comes to wire fraud. According to a report by CertifID, 52% of buyers and sellers were unaware of wire fraud risks. First-time homebuyers were three times more likely to be a victim of wire fraud.

The rise of ChatGPT and other AI tools may be a key factor behind growing digital fraud trends. According to a report by cybersecurity platform SlashNext, malicious emails increased by 856% in a recent 12-month period. Meanwhile, business email compromise rates increased by 29% in the first six months of 2024.