CertifID has officially acquired escrow management portal Closinglock to streamline secure money movement. The strategic merger combines identity verification with fraud prevention technology to safeguard closing transactions. Title companies currently face severe threats from online wire scams. Meanwhile, client expectations for digital transaction safety continue to climb rapidly.
FBI IC3 data reveals real estate losses increased faster than overall cybercrime last year. Wire fraud targeting real estate remains a chief focus for Business Email Compromise networks. Business Email Compromise schemes exceeded $3 billion in total losses last year.
“Title companies are being asked to protect more, move faster and deliver a better experience at a time when the risks have never been greater,” said Tyler Adams, CEO and Co-Founder of CertifID. “The challenges facing the real estate industry are real, persistent, and bigger than any one company or product can solve alone. By bringing our technology and expertise together, we seek to stay ahead of emerging threats while elevating the closing experience.”
Verified Trust Across Every Transaction
The platform establishes a unified trust model across every client interaction. By verifying participants and funds early, CertifID connects workflows directly with secure payment channels. The underlying technology simplifies complex verification tasks while keeping operations smooth for agents and buyers.
“We built Closinglock to protect every person and every dollar in real estate, and this gives us the opportunity to do that at a much greater scale,” said Andy White, CEO and Co-Founder of Closinglock. “Separately, our companies have solved some of the hardest problems in real estate fraud and made groundbreaking advancements in how real estate is paid for, and these capabilities belong together. By coming together we will move faster and build the infrastructure to protect the real estate transaction from start to finish.”
Existing users will experience no immediate platform disruptions. Clients can maintain their current product integrations without altering standard operational procedures. Additionally, CertifID continues investing heavily in open ecosystems alongside existing title production systems.
“Both the CertifID and Closinglock teams recognize the tremendous responsibility and trust our customers place in our hands. For that reason, we remain committed to focusing on their needs first and are approaching the integration of these two products carefully,” Adams said. “With continued headwinds in the real estate market, our responsibility is to deliver more protection and value for our customers without asking them to change platforms or restructure workflows.”
Expanding Scale and Nationwide Industry Impact
This transaction marks CertifID’s second major acquisition in four months, following its purchase of CloseSimple in June 2026. The merged firm now employs nearly 220 professionals while supporting 3,000 title companies. Over 35,000 title specialists use the system across the United States.
Last year, CertifID protected 1.55 million transactions and recovered $145 million in stolen funds. Meanwhile, Closinglock has secured over $900 billion across two million transactions since inception. Together, both entities expect to protect 2.5 million transactions this year.
The deal brings together two Austin tech firms backed by $130 million in combined venture funding. CertifID raised $80 million from Arthur Ventures and Centana Growth Partners. Meanwhile, Closinglock secured $50 million from Sageview Capital, Headline, and Live Oak Ventures.
Tom Cronkright and Lawrence Duthler founded the platform after their title company lost $180,000 to wire fraud in 2015. Under the new leadership arrangement, Adams serves as CEO while White becomes Chief Strategy Officer. Financial terms remain undisclosed.
For related updates on digital trust and cybersecurity, explore our SOC News.
