4 ways to be cyber secure when you’re selling a property
There are at least 4 Ways to be cyber secure when you’re settling a property. Don’t let scammers steal your settlement money. Hacking email accounts, sending bogus bill payment details and getting people to disclose their personal details are just some methods scammers use to target property transaction proceeds.
4 Ways to be cyber secure when you’re settling a property
- Phone your solicitor – Confirm trust account and other bank details received by email over the phone. Get on the phone and confirm BSBs, Account Numbers, Biller Codes and Reference Numbers.
- Leave links alone – If you receive a suspicious email with links to click on, Don’t Do it!
- Be alert – be careful when sharing any personal or financial information for your property transaction.
- Verify your identity – Reputable solicitors, banks and real estates, will complete verification of identity before they start work with you.
In Queensland, property sales are rising every quarter. Unfortunately, so is the number of scammers aiming to steal your settlement money. Scammers are genius when it comes to finding a way to steal your funds. Secure Exchange says in the past scammers have been caught intercepting emails, changing deposit details and making off with more than $1 Million dollars. You can read about one settlement transfer cyber hack here on Realestate.com where a Melbourne Family will potentially lose $500,000 to cyber settlement scammers.
More than 601 properties have been sold in our region in the last 12 months (to August 2024). That’s a lot of opportunities to steal your hard-earned money.
Yeppoon Lawyers Principal Partner Leonie Davey says they have seen a rise in scams and cyber-attacks at their legal practice.
“We have secure processes in place to combat the scams and cyber-attack attempts we see more and more of in our firm.
“Scammers are clever they look for opportunities. Banks that close for lunch, new employees, distracted employees. If you’re not on the ball, carefully checking details, the scammers can find a way to take the funds.
“We make sure we review our computer security regularly with RTCQ, we verify the identity of all our clients, we conduct regular staff training. This is on top of all of our regular conveyancing checks like Trust Account Authorities and Cost Authorities.
“We are hyper-vigilant when it comes to cyber security. We can’t afford not to be,” Yeppoon Lawyers’ Managing Partner, Leonie Davey says.
Buyers need to be hyper-vigiliant too. According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Scammers trying to steal your bank account and credit card details rose by 75% in 2020. On top of that false billing and phishing scams more than tripled to $18 million in 2019.
Don’t let scammers steal your settlement money, be alert but not alarmed, as the saying goes. Make sure you confirm your identity and complete all your checks and balances. Then you can make sure moving into your new home is smooth sailing.
To organise your cyber secure property settlement, including a free review of your property’s contract, call Louise Klein or Leonie Davey from Yeppoon Lawyers on 07 4925 0229 to book your confidential appointment today.
