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$100k near miss: Home buyer caught up in solicitor scam scare
A National Australia Bank (NAB) staff member has stopped a home buyer from losing thousands in a scam in which the customer received a fraudulent email requesting payment of stamp duty.
The home buyer, referred to as Daniel, was in the process of buying a home and was preparing to pay $100,000 when NAB flagged the transfer.
NAB digital fraud and scams analyst, Sanu Ale Magar, was reviewing the matter and called the customer, who explained what the payment was for.
Magar said stamp duty was a common part of the home-buying process, but felt something was off about the matter and decided to look into it further.
Daniel told NAB he had received payment instructions in an email from his solicitor and believed they were legitimate, given where he was up to in the settlement.
According to Magar, property settlement scams were often successful as the scammers strategically sent the emails at the right time in the process.
“People are expecting to move large sums of money, so the request doesn’t raise an immediate alarm,” she said.
After placing the transfer on hold, Magar told Daniel to independently confirm the payment details with his solicitor using a trusted phone number.
“When Daniel called back, he said the email had not come from the solicitor at all. It appeared the bank details were fraudulent and part of a sophisticated impersonation scam,” she said.
Magar said the transfer was stopped right before any money was lost, as the funds would have been very difficult to recover.
“For many people, this money represents their life savings. Taking a moment to stop and verify details can prevent enormous financial and emotional stress,” she said.
The case has sparked a fresh warning from the bank for home buyers to remain vigilant amid an increasing number of business email compromise scams during property transactions.
According to NAB, stamp duty payments were particularly high-risk, as they involved large, one-off transfers and tight settlement deadlines.
NAB’s group investigations executive, and former Australian Federal Police (AFP) member, Chris Sheehan, told customers to watch out for urgent payment requests or sudden changes to bank details, even if they appeared to come from trusted organisations.
“Most business email compromise scams succeed not because people are careless, but because the request looks routine and sounds reasonable,” he said.
“A moment of verification, a call, a message, a second check, can stop a significant financial loss,” Sheehan concluded.
According to Cyber Daily journalist Daniel Croft, real estate scams have been affecting all types of property purchases, including deposits, settlement transactions, and deed fraud.
To avoid falling victim, he advised buyers to speak to their conveyancer or solicitor on a trusted phone number to verify their identity and account numbers.
“Check everything – once, twice, three times, four times, as many as you can before you’re absolutely sure,” he said.
The story followed data showing a concerning rise in real estate scams, as technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) lowered the barriers to entry for cybercriminals.
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the amount of money victims lost to property scams increased from $13 million in 2021 to $43.2 million in 2024.
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