Cybercriminals steal $400K from Bay Area tech executive trying to buy home

A Bay Area tech executive trying to buy a home in the area lost her down payment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to scammers.

After finding her dream home, Rana Robillard moved quickly. While emailing but not talking back and forth with her mortgage broker, a cybercriminal spoofed the broker's email, sneaking into the conversation.

Robillard sent a $400,000 down payment, via email, to who she thought was her broker.

"And the name of the recipient of the wire was the title company's name, and I believed it to be the proper instructions at that time," she said.

But despite email headings that looked the same, it wasn't her broker on the other end.

"The day after I funded the wire, the title company reached out to me to set up the signing of the papers and I asked if they had received the funds," she said. "They said no, and my heart sank."

NBC Bay Area's Scott Budman has more in the video report above. Read more about Robillard's story here.

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