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ELECTRONIC SCAMS TO BEWARE OF

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In the recent months we have noticed a substantial increase in scams targeting the Property Sector. We want to share some of these with you so can know the signs and hopefully not fall victim to them. Here are some examples:

1. I personally receive daily emails telling me that my emails will stop working unless I log on via their link and update the details.

2. We receive emails purporting to attach a proof of payment. The attachment is then a virus which causes a total shutdown of the system. Thankfully this has not happened to us yet. Interestingly, on one occasion the fraudster didn't blind copy all the recipients so we were able to see who else they were trying to scam and it was frightening how many of my colleagues were targeted.

3. We receive emails from what looks like well-known estate agencies attaching what is meant to be a sale agreement for us to action. They even go so far as to use an estate agent's name (so far all fictitious) and at the bottom of the email is the estate agencies' contact details. The way we can tell this is a scam is when one moves the mouse over the email address one can see that it is actually from a Gmail account. When we dig deeper we find out that the agent doesn't exist and the contact details are wrong. It would take very little for the fraudster to perfect the scam if they used an actual agent's name and the correct contact details;

4. We have experienced a client's Gmail account being hacked. The fraudster then sets up a very similar Gmail account. For example Pate instead of Pete or a name where there is a "w" - the fraudster uses a "vv" instead. When casting your eye over the address it is hard to notice the difference. The fraudster then writes to us informing us of a change of bank details where to pay the proceeds. Thankfully we noticed the difference in email address and we also have very strict verification proceeds as well as verify all details telephonically. We are very wary of all Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo accounts as they seem fairly easy to hack.

5. The most recent and most concerning scam is that an estate agency itself was hacked and the fraudster sent an email from the agent's own work account. This scammer informed the buyer that we had instructed the agent to ask the buyer to pay the deposit into an FNB account instead as the interest rates were better. Thankfully this buyer was switched on enough to contact us before making the payment. Please ensure that your networks are secure and passwords are changed regularly. What is frightening is that an agency we know was hacked which resulted in a buyer paying the funds into a fraudulent account. We picked this up within minutes of the funds being paid and the bank froze the funds. After a few weeks of fighting with the bank they released the funds but deducted R20 000 for the fraudsters debit orders to go off. It wasn't even the end of a month! Unbelievable. We do insert a notice at the bottom of our emails that our bank details will never change to try and avoid these issues but as the scams become more sophisticated it becomes easier to fall prey to them. Please be vigilant and inform your clients to be vigilant. It is very seldom that a firm of attorneys will change their trust account details. If you have any queries in this regard please don't hesitate to contact us.

Annabelle da Costa (LLB) Director, DA Costa Inc Attorneys

Tel ' 031 502 6902

Cell ' 082 941 6447

Author: Annabelle Da Costa

Submitted 31 Aug 17 / Views 2239