Every Utah family deserves full protection when buying a home.
Today they don’t have it.
Buying a home should be safe. But right now, cybercriminals can insert themselves into real estate transactions through spoofed emails, fake texts, and impersonated phone calls — before anyone realizes what’s happening.
Homebuyers cannot protect themselves from these attacks. Even the most cautious person can’t detect AI-generated fraud, deepfake voices, or professional-grade impersonation scams used by transnational crime rings
Your mother, your neighbor, your kids — none of them should be expected to defend themselves against global cybercriminals.
Real Estate Cybercrime is a crisis.
- Real estate wire fraud losses exploded from $9 million in 2015 to $446 million in 2022 — a 50× increase (FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) annual reporting)
- Criminals use AI-powered phishing, deepfakes, and voice cloning to trick buyers into sending their money to a fraudulent account.
- Once the money is gone, it is almost never recovered.
- Awareness and education cannot protect homebuyers from these advanced scams.
The only real solution is prevention — stopping criminals before they ever get close to a homebuyer.
The Core Problem: Homebuyers can’t trust the communications they receive
As the Aspen Institute’s National Task Force on Fraud and Scam Prevention says:
“A key to combating scams is to stop malicious and inauthentic communications before they reach the public.”
Aspen Institute Financial Security Program. United We Stand: A National Strategy to Prevent Scams. The National Task Force on Fraud and Scam Prevention. https://fraudtaskforce.aspeninstitute.org/nationalstrategy
That is exactly what H.B. 395 does.
What Utah Homebuyers Want
1. Strong protections that stop criminals from interacting with them when buying a home.
2. A system that protects their money, not one that makes them responsible for detecting fraud.
What Utah Businesses Want
1. A business‑friendly solution that preserves innovation, competition, and homebuyer trust.
2. A statewide standard that protects the entire real estate ecosystem without slowing down transactions.
H.B. 395 delivers both.
The Solution: One Secure, Industry-Wide Communications Channel Free From Criminal Interference
H.B. 395 establishes four core protections:
1. A Secure Real Estate Communication Network (A Closed Communication Network, Not a Portal)
All financial-related messages — lender instructions, title and escrow updates, wire instructions — must be sent through a state‑authorized secure network, not through email or text.
This network functions like:
- ACH for banking
- Fedwire for funds movement
…but for real estate transaction communications.
Every business connects its own systems to access the network.
Homebuyers never receive money-related information through email or text again, denying criminals the information required for their scams.
2. A State‑Authorized Utility With Oversight
A single real estate communications utility — similar to electricity or water utilities — operates the secure network and must obtain a certificate of authority from the state.
The utility is overseen by the Utah Title & Escrow Commission, which:
- Reviews and renews the certificate of authority
- Approves fee schedules
- Approves rules for user eligibility and conduct
- Refers violations to the appropriate regulators
This guarantees fairness, accountability, innovation, and statewide protection.
3. Mandatory Use for All Licensed Participants
Every regulated participant in the real estate process must use the secure network:
- Real estate agents and brokers
- Mortgage lenders and originators
- Escrow officers
- Title insurance professionals
- Appraisers
Failure to do so becomes unprofessional conduct under their licensing laws.
This ensures homebuyer safety isn’t optional — it’s required.
4. Uniform Identity Verification Across the Entire Ecosystem
Only verified, credentialed professionals can access the network.
This blocks out cyber criminals and creates a single, trusted environment.
For homebuyers, this means:
- Only legitimate professionals can send financial information and instructions.
- Criminals can’t get inside the network to pose as someone they’re not.
How H.B. 395 Protects Utah Families
This bill provides the strongest homebuyer cyber-prevention and protection ever implemented in Utah real estate:
- Establishes a secure, state-approved communications Utility.
- Mandates use of secure communications by industry professionals: Homebuyers are no longer dependent on whether an individual employee “knows better.”
- Stops criminals before they reach homebuyers: Moves all financial details off open communication systems like email and SMS text and onto a secure communication network, eliminating the entry points criminals exploit.
- Shifts the burden away from consumers: Buyers no longer need to verify wiring instructions or spot scams — the system — not the homebuyer — bears the burden of fraud prevention.
- Creates a uniform statewide communication standard: No more fragmented, open-access communication systems. Everyone plays by the same rules.
- Ensures only verified professionals can access the system: Every participant is authenticated and continuously monitored, so only legitimate professionals can send high‑risk communications and no fraudster can impersonate a practitioner inside the network.
- Provides peace of mind: Families know the industry is actively preventing criminals from communicating with them about their money.
H.B. 395 doesn’t just respond to cybercrime, it prevents it. It builds a statewide, mandatory industry-wide communications channel that protects every Utah homebuyer and every real estate transaction.
- A fraud proof communication channel for all money related instructions
- Protection from impersonation scams and spoofed emails
- Verified professionals only – no criminals can access the network
- State‑mandated compliance across all sectors
- Dramatically reduced risk of losing life savings to wire fraud