Could this $1m property scam have been avoided?

Earlier this week, a woman faced court in Sydney over allegations she had fraudulently obtained $1 million during a property settlement – but according to Securexchange, it should never have happened.

The woman, who faced Parramatta Local Court on Tuesday (14 December) charged with two counts of recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime, is alleged to have pocketed the funds through a business email compromise scam conducted in June 2021.

According to reports, the incident saw a property purchaser deposit $1 million into a fake account during the settlement period of a property transaction, reportedly sourced from a compromised email address belonging to the purchaser’s lawyer.

In September this year, REB reported on the rising number of business email compromise scams targeting the real estate and property sector.

Lee Bailie, a spokesperson for Securexchange, said, “it frustrates me to hear about this recent $1 million property scam knowing there is a solution that exists today which could have prevented this from happening.

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