About 46% of property lawyers are unaware of the latest property fraud schemes targeting unsuspecting buyers, according to a recent survey by conveyancing technology firm GlobalX.
In particular, the poll of 170 property lawyers found a lack of awareness in phishing scams, which dupe individuals into giving up private information.
According to GlobalX CEO Peter Maloney, scammers can hack conveyancers' client lists, impersonate them, and email clients to advise them the property trust account details had changed so clients would transfer property purchase funds into a fraudulent account.
In October last year, email scammers tricked two South Australian property buyers into handing over a total of about $900,000, by using fake emails to pose as conveyancers, ABC News reported.
Following the incident, The Law Society of South Australia released a practitioner alert which warned that lawyers who perform conveyancing work and other services involving money transactions are being targeted.
Australian Institute of Conveyancers president Shane Jacob said scammers are getting smarter. "It is vital that buyers and conveyancers become more informed. If you receive an email that you think is suspicious, buyers should be calling their conveyancer to confirm it is legitimate," he added.
For his part, Maloney advises lawyers and conveyancers to inform their clients about scams and let them know that they would never contact them via email to change such crucial financial details as property trust account details.
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