As property transactions increasingly rely on electronic communication for speed and convenience, buyers and sellers are becoming prime targets for cybercriminals. With sensitive information and large sums of money at stake, the risks are significant.

Cybercriminals often try and impersonate property practitioners and conveyancers and target the sellers and purchasers of properties, employing different measures to try and trick sellers or purchasers into transferring or depositing funds into fraudulent bank accounts. 

Sellers and purchasers can employ the following practical steps to reduce their risk of becoming a victim of cybercrime: 

Be wary and sceptical of urgent requests for payment
Cybercriminals take advantage of a purchaser’s and seller’s desire to finalise property transactions and resort to requesting urgent payments to “finalise” a property transaction. A purchaser should think twice before making a payment, as these urgent requests are often accompanied by a change of banking details, which is often overlooked under the guise of urgency. 

Verify banking details before making any payments 
Cybercriminals often resort to providing fraudulent banking details or intercepting emails and changing banking details in email communication between conveyancers and the transaction parties or between the parties themselves. Sellers and purchasers should, as a precautionary measure, always request their bank to verify banking details before any payment is made. Alternatively, a simple telephone call to the conveyancer or property practitioner to confirm their bank account details telephonically will ensure that payments are made to the correct account.

Educate yourself 
Sellers and purchasers should read up and be informed about ways in which cybercriminals attempt to exploit consumers. This will assist in avoiding obvious scams and go a long way to ensuring you are safe throughout a transaction. 

Protect your email
Often, cybercriminals gain access to a buyer or seller’s email account and thereby manage to infiltrate the transaction and fraudulently change banking details and impersonate parties. Having a strong password on your email account, not sharing it with other parties and having a good antivirus programme on your computer can also go a long way to avoiding your account being hacked. 

As cybercrime continues to evolve alongside the digitisation of property transactions, both sellers and purchasers must be proactive in protecting themselves. By staying alert to suspicious communication, verifying payment details independently, and educating yourself on methods used by cybercriminals, parties to a property transaction can significantly reduce their risk of falling victim to cybercrimes.


Disclaimer: This article is the personal opinion/view of the author(s) and is not necessarily that of the firm. The content is provided for information only and should not be seen as an exact or complete exposition of the law. Accordingly, no reliance should be placed on the content for any reason whatsoever and no action should be taken on the basis thereof unless its application and accuracy have been confirmed by a legal advisor. The firm and author(s) cannot be held liable for any prejudice or damage resulting from action taken on the basis of this content without further written confirmation by the author(s).