Property – protection against ‘cyber crime’: How to stay alert in the modern world

By Anna Dunn, Partner at Mayo Wynne Baxter.

Congratulations on your new property venture. With the economy starting to show signs favourable to buyers, you have decided that you will soon be investing in a new, or your first property.  This could be as an investment, a new home with room to grow or helping your children with their first step onto the property ladder. Understandably, ensuring that the money you are investing in your new property is safe is incredibly important.

Fraudsters are increasingly finding more creative ways to relieve you of your savings and are using the advances in technology, with AI leading the way. You will, no doubt, have seen reports in the news about various cyber-attacks on large organisations. Such risks have led to a Cyber Monthly Threat Update being issued by Action Fraud to help firms stay alert to the changes in approaches taken by fraudsters.

You may have already put measures in place to protect the home and deter fraudsters, like, for example, following advice provided by the Land Registry – as helpfully outlined in Simon Keeler’s article in April. However, the importance of vigilance when selling and buying property cannot be overstated.

With tight controls already in place, you may ponder “Am I really at risk?”, but there are still areas of vulnerability in property transactions which require a degree of vigilance.

Email accounts can be vulnerable to attack, particularly, if weak passwords are used and “spoofing” email addresses can mask the true identity of the sender. There are recent reports of fraudsters accessing email accounts, monitoring emails back and forth and then sending a “doctored” email with a change in account details. These appear legitimate as the fraudster has access to the context of where the transaction is in the chain.

For example, if bank account details are sent by email, your solicitor should check these with you before funds are released to ensure that they have the most up to date and correct information.  In addition to this, before sending any money, they should be happy for you to contact them to confirm the details you have are also correct and to allow for test payments to be made.

Remember bank details are not likely to change during the course of a property transaction.

WhatsApp and text messages can also be vulnerable to fraudster interference. I am sure most of us will have been told the parcel we didn’t know we had ordered couldn’t be delivered and helpfully been asked to click on a link to make an additional payment.

The importance of a personal service, where you have regular contact with your conveyancer, can help ensure a trusting relationship and that both you and they are aware of what money is being sent and received, minimising if not eliminating the risk of interception.

I have seen first-hand when acting for housing associations tracing money erroneously sent to the account of a fraudster how quickly these funds are dissipated through a large number of accounts, making tracing them very difficult. And this is with the knowledge of who the fraudsters were. It is much harder, or impossible, to trace funds stolen by an anonymous fraudster who happened to correctly guess a password.

Dealing with Property should not be the negative experience the fraudsters are aiming for. By being aware of the risks you can put yourself in the best position to protect yourself and your investment;

1. Make sure your property is registered. This will help confirm that you have a digital record of your property with the Land Registry.  This is particularly important for houses which have remained within the family for a long time and may still rely on paper title deeds (unregistered land). If you are not sure if your property is unregistered this can be easily checked for you by a property solicitor.

2. Do your homework. Make sure the solicitors you instruct are on the Law Society’s website or are members of the Council of Licensed Conveyancers and, where possible, registered under the Conveyancing Quality Scheme.

3. Know your transaction. Keep a diary of the conveyancing process including who is dealing with your sale or purchase, your estate agents details and record the stage you are at in the process.

4. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Always check if you are unsure of what you are being asked to do.

Finally, a recommendation. In an ever-churning property market, it is likely someone you know has used a conveyancer in the last 12 months and will be able to give you positive feedback about the firm and conveyancer they instructed. Personal service offers peace of mind and helps you to focus on the important things, like making your new house a home.

www.mayowynnebaxter.co.uk