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Property scam

G_M
G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
in House buying, renting & selling
Expose of property scam on today's BBC 'Fake Britain'.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07wzts3/fake-britain-series-6-30-minute-versions-episode-6

It's not new, but is becoming more common.

* Scammers hack email addresses and monitor them
* identify when a large transaction (eg property sale) is pending, then send the buyer an email claiming to be their solicitor giving bank details
* Buyer assumes it's his solicitor, and sends money to the bank details provided
* £00,000s vanish.......

Always double check an email invoice, and always ring the solicitor to confirm bank details before sending money.
«13

Comments

  • cjmillsnun
    cjmillsnun Posts: 615 Forumite
    It’s certainly a known issue. My solicitors had a warning about it in their signature stating that the bank details would not change throughout the transaction and to ring them to confirm if unsure.
    2.88 kWp System, SE Facing, 30 Degree Pitch, 12 x 240W Conergy Panels, Samil Solar River Inverter, Havant, Hampshire. Installed July 2012, acquired by me on purchase of house in August 2017
  • DaftyDuck
    DaftyDuck Posts: 4,609 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I always send an odd amount nearing a single pound first, and ask the solicitor to confirm receipt by phone in person. I would normally have collected bank detasils in person anyway. Double check!
  • fed_up_and_stressed
    fed_up_and_stressed Posts: 1,673 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    My solicitors telephoned me to ask me to ring them back on their office number so I could be confident the bank details I was being given were the correct ones due to this well known scam. (It was a local solicitor whose phone number is well known in the area)
    Spelling courtesy of the whims of auto correct...


    Pet Peeves.... queues, vain people and hypocrites ..not necessarily in that order.
  • davetrousers
    davetrousers Posts: 5,862 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    G_M wrote: »
    * £00,000s vanish.......

    Nothing vanishes, phew
    .....

  • aneary
    aneary Posts: 921 Forumite
    My solicitors wouldn't accept a bank transfer for this reason, cheque, pay in person or over the phone when I have called them.
  • Ozzuk
    Ozzuk Posts: 1,884 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts
    My solicitor warned me about this a few years ago, I still get at least one email a week in my spam folder talking about conveyancing.
  • CommitedToChange
    CommitedToChange Posts: 1,325 Forumite
    I've just paid my sol all my money and even though I collected the acount details in person I still set up a new person to transfer to then transfered £1 and waited to confirm I they had received it correctly before transferring the rest.

    Always better safe than sorry.
  • Lavendyr
    Lavendyr Posts: 2,610 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Saw this in Guardian Money a little while back. Scary stuff.

    https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/oct/21/couple-lose-120000-email-hacking-fraud-legal-sector
  • glentoran99
    glentoran99 Posts: 5,825 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker Debt-free and Proud!
    aneary wrote: »
    My solicitors wouldn't accept a bank transfer for this reason, cheque, pay in person or over the phone when I have called them.

    For 10's of thousands? deposit for property etc?
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    aneary wrote: »
    My solicitors wouldn't accept a bank transfer for this reason, cheque, pay in person or over the phone when I have called them.

    They're not going to get very far if they don't accept bank transfers - that policy would make things absurdly inconvenient these days.
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