Please Note the Following November Closures

November 7th - Election Day

Virginia Courthouses

November 10th - Veteran's Day

Virginia Title Center and Virginia Courthouses

November 23rd & 24th - Thanksgiving

Virginia Title Center and Virginia Courthouses

Navigating Mental Health in a Multigenerational Workplace

by Morra Aarons-Mele

Today’s workers increasingly expect their employer to play a role in improving mental health. But with five different generations coming together in the workplace, who were all raised with different expectations about how to talk about mental health challenges at work, it’s no wonder that it’s a tricky topic for managers to navigate. But one thing is clear: Future leaders — and workers — are demanding a level of vulnerability that’s new, uncomfortable, and 100% necessary. Click HERE to learn about three approaches for organizations to support better mental health and more productive conversations across generations going forward.

An Industry Veteran's Take on the "Chaotic" Mortgage Market

by Maria Volkova

Paul Hindman, industry veteran, has been in the mortgage space for close to three decades, and what is happening in the industry right now is nothing short of "chaotic," he said. "The win [for many mortgage companies] right now might just be survival," he said. "When things happen to the level that they've happened, as quickly as they've happened and to go on as long as they've been allowed to go on, it really does impact the psyche of an industry." Click HERE to read a condensed version of an interview with Paul as to whether IMBs are still actively hiring loan officers and branches, his predictions on M&A activity and what he thinks about a recent plea from two industry stakeholders asking the Federal Reserve to start buying long-term mortgages.

How To Be A Better Leader Amid Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity

by Angus Fletcher, Thomas L. Gaines, and Brittany Loney



Your environment is changing fast. You lack the data to make confident decisions. Your operations sprawl with processes. You’re spotting trends that could be good — or not. These are the four challenges of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. They're the reality of business today. Yet they're not new. So why do some organizations respond better? How do they succeed when others struggle or even surrender? Click HERE to learn more.

'Fraudsters Gotta Eat Too:' The Title Industry Navigates an Uptick in Fraud

by Brooklee Han

Since the start of 2023, 73% of real estate firms have seen an increase in seller impersonation fraud attempts. Trust is the currency of fraud because what fraudsters are going to do is establish trust from a document that looks exactly like it is coming from a financial institution or an email domain that looks legitimate or even an inflection in their voice. As AI technology continues to develop with improvements to things like deep fakes and voice cloning, it is going to be even easier for fraudsters to seem legitimate and build trust with victims. We must all increase our vigilance in our processes and heighten awareness with all involved in the real estate transaction. Click HERE to read more.

5 Ways to Develop Talent for an Unpredictable Future

by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

We may not know what tomorrow’s jobs will look like, but we can safely assume that when people are more curious, emotionally intelligent, resilient, driven, and intelligent, they will generally be better equipped to learn what is needed to perform those jobs, and provide whatever human value technology cannot replace. Rather than betting on specialists or forcing people into specific niches, organizations need to focus on expanding people’s talents. What we need is not just re-skilling or up-skilling, but pre-skilling: that is, being able to future-proof talent and reinvent peoples’ careers before we even know what tomorrow’s jobs and in-demand skills will be. Click HERE for recommendations.

How Banks Can Prioritize Fraud Prevention With the Customer in Mind

by Gaurishankar Gopalakrishnan

A key component of seamless consumer banking experiences moving forward will be the ability to constantly adapt and fight against fraud in an evolving technology landscape. In a highly regulated, evolving industry, financial institutions have to be nimble and open to embracing new tools and technologies to keep themselves and their customers protected. By establishing trust with customers early in their lifecycle and adopting the right strategies and technologies, financial institutions can get a leg up in the ongoing struggle to balance security with a positive customer experience. Click HERE to learn more.

United States Postal Inspection Service Warns Check Washing Scams on the Rise

Learn how to protect yourself.

Have you ever sent a check that was cashed, but the recipient said it never arrived? You may be the victim of check washing. Check washing scams involve changing the payee names and often the dollar amounts on checks and fraudulently depositing them. Occasionally, these checks are stolen from mailboxes and washed in chemicals to remove the ink. Some scammers will even use copiers or scanners to print fake copies of a check. In fact, Postal Inspectors recover more than $1 billion in counterfeit checks and money orders every year, but you can take steps to protect yourself. Click HERE to learn more.

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Virginia Title Center Keeps You Safe From Wire Fraud with CertifID

Digital banking makes moving money easier for everyone — including cyber criminals, who are getting more cunning every day. Every wire transfer you send or receive is at risk. Yet many ask if wire fraud is really that serious? Wire transfers continue to be the most frequently reported payment method for fraud with a reported aggregate loss of $2.4 Billion and an average loss of $120k per victim. And, did you know that one out of every three real estate transactions are targeted for wire fraud?

At Virginia Title Center, we take the safety of your money and your client's money seriously and now offer wire fraud protection through a partnership with CertifID. This offers end-to-end protection to keep customer information secured and insured at all times through a suite of services. CertifID makes it easy for us to securely send our wire instructions to clients and lenders; allows us to safely collect bank details from home sellers and other partners; verifies the bank details that have been provided are accurate and not tampered with; and, offers PayoffProtect to validate the authenticity of wiring instructions to ensure loan payoff payments aren't sent to fraudsters. All wire transactions are backed by Lloyd's of London and insured up to $1 million. Click HERE for a flyer you can share with your clients, and talk to your settlement processor to learn how using CertifID can protect you and your clients.