The fake-escrow scam: how to be sure you’re on the real Escrow.com

How the scam works

Escrow means a neutral company holds the buyer’s money. The seller is paid only after the buyer receives what was promised and accepts it. That is why buyers trust escrow — and why scammers copy it.

Escrow.com warns that fake sites claim to be owned by its operator or use its license number. In 2019, California’s financial regulator (DFPI) warned about a company that was using Escrow.com’s license number to look real.

Here is how it can look. A seller agrees to use escrow, then tells you which escrow website to use and sends you the link. The site looks like Escrow.com. The money you wire goes to the scammer, not to an escrow account.

Habit 1: Open escrow.com yourself

Do not click a link to reach an escrow site. Escrow.com tells people to go to its website directly, by typing the address in the browser instead of clicking a link. FMCSA also warns that top search results may be fake profiles. Type the address. Every time.

On TruckBiz, we say it the same way: always type escrow.com in your browser yourself, and never follow payment links from Facebook, Telegram, a text or an e-mail.

Habit 2: Read the sender’s address, letter by letter

Escrow.com tells people to check the sender’s e-mail address very closely. Its own example of a fake sender adds a number to the real name: support@escrow01.com. If you are not sure, do not reply and do not click. Call the phone number shown on the real website, not the one in the e-mail.

Habit 3: Never wire money to a person

Escrow.com says a request to send a wire transfer directly to an individual should set off alarm bells. Your payment should go only into the account shown inside your own logged-in transaction.

Wire only to the account details shown after you log in to your own Escrow.com transaction.

Habit 4: Be careful when the other side picks the escrow site

Escrow.com puts it plainly: “Be wary the moment a seller begins to stipulate the escrow site”. Other warning signs it lists: a look-alike web address, a new website, no working phone number, payment to a person instead of a company, and fees that look too low. Escrow.com also says that if a site looks similar to Escrow.com, it is likely fraudulent.

If someone pushes you to use a site that you think is fake, Escrow.com’s advice is to walk away from the deal. It says the person who recommended the site is usually part of the scam.

Habit 5: Check the license yourself

Escrow.com is operated by Internet Escrow Services, Inc. It lists its state licenses — including a California escrow license — on its own Licenses page. You do not have to take anyone’s word for it: look it up yourself on NMLS Consumer Access, NMLS ID 1370002. Open both pages by typing the address, not from a link someone sent you.

Real escrow also checks who you are. Escrow.com says it verifies the identity of all parties in a transaction before it accepts money.

What escrow does not do

Escrow is designed to protect the payment step. It does not check the company. Escrow.com’s terms say it does not verify the authenticity, ownership or title of what is sold. So a real escrow account does not prove the company is clean.

And one more rule: TruckBiz never asks for your passwords or 2FA codes.

If something feels wrong

Stop. Do not send money. Then report it:

• Escrow.com: support@escrow.com or 1-888-511-8600.
• FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: ic3.gov.
• FTC: ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• FMCSA and DOT: if a USDOT number is being misused, report to FMCSA’s National Consumer Complaint Database and the DOT Inspector General hotline, (800) 424-9071.

For more red flags in trucking deals, read How to spot an MC scam.

General information only, as of the “Last reviewed” date — not legal, tax or insurance advice. Rules change; check the official source we link. TruckBiz is a marketplace, not a law firm, insurance agency or escrow company. Talk to your own lawyer, accountant and insurance agent about your deal.

Escrow.com is a trademark of its owner. TruckBiz is not affiliated with or endorsed by Escrow.com, FMCSA or the U.S. DOT. We link to Escrow.com’s own pages so you can read its rules in its own words.

Last reviewed: October 6, 2026