I got duped! Title Closing Fraud

[VB Phom]

I got duped into sending $10K in the form of a wire transfer to a person who was acting like an individual from the title company. 

This is my first rental property purchase, and I was deceived into thinking I had to wire transfer funds for closing in order to make my closing date on the 20th. I wanted to share my story so other first time investors don't fall for this trick. 

At some point during the sales transaction, personal information about the home purchase was intercepted by a fraudster. They knew the location of the home, the title company contact information and names, amounts of purchase...everything. I wired the money to the individual and found out the next morning from my lender the transaction was fraud! What a huge disappointment and super discouraging to have this happen on my first property! I'm not sure if I will recoup the cost of this fraud; however, I won't allow this to tear down my dreams! Please do not wire money to anyone without talking to them on the phone first! Don't make the same stupid mistake I did. They caught me off guard as I didn't want to delay my closing and allowed my emotions to take over first vs trusting my gut instinct! Post the fraud wire transfer, I filed a report with the FBI and the local police. In addition, spoke to all parties involved to try and recall the payment. What a nightmare!