Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Did you see that 60 Minutes story about the tequila heist?

It caught my attention partly because, well, tequila. But mostly because of how the thieves pulled it off. They didn’t break into a warehouse or hijack a truck on the highway. They used fake digital “paperwork”. Fake carrier profiles. Forged tracking data. The trucks looked like they were on their way. The GPS showed them moving down the highway. Only they weren’t.

They were going somewhere else entirely.

I couldn’t stop thinking about that — because it’s exactly the kind of deceit we deal with in real estate every day.

Different cargo, same con.

The way 60 Minutes described it, these scammers built entire fake identities inside freight systems. Their fake company bid on loads, won them, and hired legitimate drivers who thought they were working real jobs. Then, using spoofed GPS data, the thieves made it look like everything was on track for days. By the time anyone realized the tequila wasn’t headed to its destination, it was long gone.

It’s not so different from how wire fraud happens in a real estate transaction.

Fraudsters slip into an email chain, watch and wait, and then — at the perfect moment — send “updated” wire instructions that look completely legitimate. A single digit changes, or the name of a bank. The agent or buyer wires the funds, the confirmation looks normal, and by the time anyone catches on, the money has disappeared overseas.

In both cases, the criminals aren’t forcing their way in. They’re piggybacking in via systems that appear trustworthy.

What struck me most about the tequila story was how convincing the illusion was. Even after the shipment was stolen, the digital tracking data showed the trucks right where they were supposed to be. The GPS had been spoofed.

It made me think about our own version of that false reassurance; when everything looks normal in the inbox. The familiar email address, the same logo, the same closing timeline. Everything about it says, “You’re safe.” Until you’re not.

There’s something universal in these stories about how much we rely on systems to tell us the truth.
The freight tracking app.
The email thread.
The wire confirmation.

We forget that behind every blinking light and notification, there’s still a person (sometimes, a criminal) pulling the strings.

I’ve heard people say, “We have protocols in place.” And that’s good. You must.  But it’s also true that protocols don’t help if everyone’s moving too fast to follow them.
Sometimes the simplest protection is the most human one: pick up the phone.

In the shipping world, that might mean calling the carrier directly — not the number on the fake digital paperwork.
In the title world, it means calling the client, lender, or agent at a known number to confirm wiring instructions.

A two-minute conversation can stop a six-figure loss.

The tequila heist was valued at around $20 million.
In our world, it’s people’s life savings, their down payments, their homes.

Different stakes, sure — but the same heartache when the system fails.

So I keep thinking about what that story really teaches:
Technology will keep getting smarter.
Criminals will keep getting smarter, too.
Our job is to stay human enough to notice when something doesn’t feel right.

Trust your systems, but verify your people.

And maybe take a note from the trucking industry — sometimes the problem isn’t in the truck, it’s in the route you think you’re watching.

Until Next Time,

Mary Schuster
Chief Knowledge Officer
October Research, LLC