In a society where we increasing rely more and more on communicating by emails, paying for services on our phone and transferring money by bank transfer, the criminals are always developing their systems to intercept these transactions and fraudulently take our money.
Whether you are selling, buying or remortgaging your house, Conveyancing is no exception.
E-mail Spoofing
The fraudster often impersonates a person or firm by mimicking their details in the hope that the recipient will respond and provide the information they require. Very often they will include a link to an outside website which will ask you to provide personal information.
The email address they use will not be the same as the email address you have been corresponding with during the transaction, making slight changes, so that they are not immediately visible.
Friday Afternoon Phishing
Friday afternoon fraud is a well-documented phenomenon. Criminals know that residential property transactions often complete on a Friday. People like to have the weekend to get settled into a new home and Friday just seems to work.
The fraudster will monitor your emails to and from your Conveyancer and at the right time, when you are about to complete, they pretend to be your Conveyancer and email you with bank details and request funds are sent to this account, usually immediately to avoid delay to the transaction. They can also intercept an email you send to your Conveyancer and pretend to be you and provide their bank account details in an attempt to get sale proceeds.
Fraudsters will also pose as the Conveyancers representing the other side of a transaction and provide their own bank details for payment of purchase funds.
Ten steps you can take to ensure you are protected
1. Avoid posting updates about your transaction on Social Media. Your old school friends might have fun being nosey but fraudsters are also likely to find it interesting and can use the information to identity when to send the scam email requesting your money.
2. If you are ever unsure, check your Solicitor’s bank details over the phone or in person before sending any payments to them. We won’t think you are being silly for double-checking.
3. Do not e-mail your solicitors using public Wi-Fi. If it is not password protected, criminals can easily access your information. Public Wi-Fi areas can also be cloned so be cautious about using them.
4. Do not send your bank details by email or by phone. You will be asked to complete and sign an authority form nominating your chosen bank account to received completion funds. You can either post the form or bring it in person to our office.
If you have to send sensitive information by email, do not give a clue to what that information might be in the emails subject line.
5. We will send you our bank details at the start of your transaction with the initial paperwork, these will be by post. We will not send our bank details by email. If you receive bank details by email, please phone us immediately (using a verified landline telephone number).
6. Do not transfer money to a bank account whose details differ from the ones given to you at the outset of the transaction. Remember, we will not change our bank details during the transaction.
7. Call us using the telephone number you have always used for us. Do not use telephone numbers provided in e-mails you are unsure about. If you have any concerns, call your Conveyancer before you send any money, they will be able to look out for its arrival via their accounts department and inform you whether it has arrived safely. You could even send a small sum of money first to test whether the details are correct and that the money has been safely received before you send the rest.
8. If a strange e-mail, particularly one asking for money is sent to you outside of your solicitor’s working hours, wait until their office is open to act. Your solicitor is unlikely to be trying to encourage you to proceed quickly on a Saturday afternoon when other firms are also closed for business. Your solicitor will be unable to confirm safe receipt of funds until the office is open and the banking system can be accessed.
9. Remember we will never push you to proceed quickly. Be careful, fraudsters often use this tactic so that emails are used and corners are cut.
10. Stay wary. Don’t lower your guard because you have been expecting an email requesting the money. Check that the numbers, e-mail and other details match.
What are Timms doing to protect me from fraud?
At Timms, we are very aware of the threat of cyber-crime and fraud. Here are a few steps that we are taking to ensure that you are protected.
1. Staff are very much aware of the risk and the tell-tale signs that something might be amiss. We are alert to any unusual instructions that might appear to come from our clients, particularly if instructions or even bank details change at short notice.
2. We try to ensure that our clients are aware of the Conveyancing process so that they will know what to expect from us and when. Our clients know when personal information will be required and at what stages they will be asked for payments.
3. Our IT Department keep us updated with information on new scams as well as ensuring that our current systems are watertight.
4. We give our Clients our bank details at the outset of transactions and tell them they are highly unlikely to change. This information is given directly by letter. We will never e-mail our bank details to you.
5. We have systems in place to check that the other firms we are dealing with on your behalf are genuine and that the bank details provided are correct. We use this system in every purchase transaction we work on.
6. We will ask for your bank details using a signed form of authority from you to ensure they are correct. We will not accept these details by e-mail.
7. We make our clients aware that our working hours are 9:00am – 5:00pm Monday to Friday. Although we do sometimes work outside of those hours, the office will not be open and our Accounts Department will be closed. We will not send you a request for funds outside of those normal working hours.
8. Our processes are under active review to ensure that our clients are as protected as possible.
Working with your solicitor/conveyancer is a two way street. No matter how good and safe we are, if you are not as vigilant you may end up having your emails hacked or becoming involved in property fraud.
Next Steps...
Remember, if in doubt about cyber crime throughout your sale or purchase, always give us a call on freephone 0800 011 6666.
