by Bryan Crabtree

Many real estate closing attorneys are refusing to buy the insurance that covers wire fraud and cybercrime. So instead of wiring your funds, they fall back on paper checks and other outdated procedures — and they sell it to you as caution.

It isn't caution. It isn't safer. It's cheaper. And the explanation they hand you is, in my opinion, a load of cover for a firm that simply hasn't kept up with the times.

Before anyone decides this is a broker upset about a commission check: it isn't. After nearly three decades in this business, I can pick up a check or wait on one. How I get paid doesn't worry me. What worries me is what a firm reveals about itself when it won't wire funds at all.

Here's what's actually going on.

Moving money electronically the safe way costs money. A firm that wires routinely has paid for fraud prevention, banking controls, out-of-band verification, staff training, and — the piece that matters most — dedicated coverage for social engineering fraud, funds-transfer fraud, and the client funds sitting in its trust account. That coverage exists specifically because email-based wire scams are now the most common fraud in real estate.

And it is not even expensive. Which is exactly what makes the refusal so telling. A firm that won't wire, under conditions where its competitors wire every day, has almost always made one quiet decision: not to spend the money. Rather than admit that, it dresses the decision up.

So you get the stories. "We're just being careful." "Wires aren't safe." "We prefer to handle it the old-fashioned way." It sounds responsible. It's backwards.

Mailing a six-figure trust check doesn't remove risk — it adds it. Checks get lost, stolen, intercepted, altered, and delayed. That check travels with no real-time verification, no controls, and no electronic trail — the exact safeguards electronic systems were built to provide. In 2026, paper is not the secure option. Calling it "conservative" is a misread of where the danger actually lives, and that misread is a question of judgment.

I watched it happen recently. I was on the other side of a Mount Pleasant deal from an attorney whose office sat more than an hour away. The transaction closed, the funds were collected, the parties were owed their money. The proposed solution for a six-figure disbursement was not a wire, not an ACH, not even overnight delivery. It was a trust-account check, dropped in the mail.

The right question was never "why won't they wire my money." It was "why won't they wire anyone's money?"

That refusal — to wire any funds at all, whether it's seller proceeds or a real estate commission — is a black flag, and most consumers walk right past it. A firm that won't move money electronically is telling you it does not trust its own verification procedures, its own people, its own controls, or its own coverage to do the job safely. Read that again. The firm you are about to hand the largest financial transaction of your life does not have confidence in its own safety protocols.

Here is the nugget no one says out loud: if a closing attorney doesn't trust their own systems enough to wire funds, you should not trust them with your closing.

Most consumers assume every closing attorney carries the same safeguards. They don't. Some invested in modern fraud prevention and insurance. Others went cheap and are counting on you not to ask. Before you hand a law firm one of the largest financial transactions of your life, ask three questions: Do you carry social-engineering and client-funds fraud coverage? What's the limit? And what's your wire-verification procedure?

The firms that have kept up will answer in a sentence. The ones mailing checks will hand you a story.

So when a closing attorney tells you the check is in the mail, the check isn't the story.

The real story is why they wouldn't wire it.

FAQ Section

What does a closing attorney do in South Carolina?

A closing attorney coordinates the legal transfer of real estate ownership, manages escrow funds, conducts title work, prepares closing documents, and disburses proceeds after closing.

Who chooses the closing attorney in South Carolina?

In most South Carolina transactions, the buyer typically selects the closing attorney, although the choice can be negotiated during contract negotiations.

Are all closing attorneys the same?

No. Closing attorneys vary significantly in their cybercrime insurance coverage, fraud prevention procedures, communication practices, technology systems, and fund disbursement policies.

Is a wire transfer safer than a paper check?

When proper verification procedures are followed, wire transfers can provide faster delivery, better tracking, and more controls than traditional mailed checks.

What questions should I ask a closing attorney before closing?

Ask about wire verification procedures, cybercrime insurance coverage, social engineering fraud protection, trust account safeguards, communication practices, and estimated funding timelines.

Author Bio - bryan Crabtree

Bryan Crabtree is a Charleston, South Carolina real estate broker with nearly 30 years of experience representing buyers and sellers throughout Mount Pleasant, Charleston, Isle of Palms, Sullivan's Island, Summerville, and the surrounding Lowcountry. Having participated in thousands of real estate transactions, Crabtree regularly advises clients on contract negotiations, inspections, financing, closing procedures, and selecting qualified real estate professionals.