The importance of ‘securing’ data to prevent cyber crime

After a Gold Coast couple lost $40,000 in a property transaction scam, lawyers, conveyancers, and real estate agents have expressed the importance of data protection platforms. Last month, Mitch Wilson and Penny Davies thought they were following instructions from their agent when they transferred their deposit to a bank account. However, what appeared to be an email from their real estate agent was actually from a scammer — who had hacked into an email account and sent a fraudulent email.

Following this — and other similar cases — a number of industry professionals have started using third-party software to securely transfer funds and sensitive information. Head of InfoTrack’s property team in Australia and key spokesperson for property exchange platform Securexchange, Lee Bailie, is working collaboratively with lawyers, conveyancers, and real estate agents to combat the risk of financial theft during the sale and settlement of a property.

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