Buying a house? Read this! Deposit scam via email.
Buying a house? Read this! Deposit scam via email.
Author
Discussion

andy43

Original Poster:

13,246 posts

284 months

Wednesday 6th January 2016
quotequote all
New scam - an email or text requests you to transfer your purchase deposit... never to be seen again.
Always double check! Going in with a cheque in your hand would be my method!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/art...

Not seen this mentioned before - if it has been, mods feel free to delete thread.


Edited by andy43 on Wednesday 6th January 14:13

V8A*ndy

3,703 posts

221 months

Wednesday 6th January 2016
quotequote all
A lady here in N.I. had an email from her solicitors correcting the bank details she had been sent earlier in the day.

The email appeared in her thread of conversations with the solicitor.

70k gone.


ETA: and it was a Barclays account as well.

I called my solicitors twice to confirm the details and they seemed a bit "FFS not him again".




Edited by V8A*ndy on Wednesday 6th January 14:17

Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

276 months

Wednesday 6th January 2016
quotequote all
Ozzie's tip!

WHENEVER you have to send a large amount of money to somebody new by electronic transfer ALWAYS send an initial amount of, say £100, as a test. Then PHONE the intended recipient to check that it has arrived safely before sending the rest. This approach has served me well for many years.

Leaving aside fraud, it's amazing how easy it is to accidentally transpose digits or make other simple mistakes when sending or entering bank account details or transaction references.

98elise

32,709 posts

191 months

Wednesday 6th January 2016
quotequote all
Ozzie Osmond said:
Ozzie's tip!

WHENEVER you have to send a large amount of money to somebody new by electronic transfer ALWAYS send an initial amount of, say £100, as a test. Then PHONE the intended recipient to check that it has arrived safely before sending the rest. This approach has served me well for many years.

Leaving aside fraud, it's amazing how easy it is to accidentally transpose digits or make other simple mistakes when sending or entering bank account details or transaction references.
Sound advice, and not something I've thought to do before.

Eric Mc

125,750 posts

295 months

Wednesday 6th January 2016
quotequote all
With everybody acting as their own bank tellers these days, sending money to an incorrect account number is all too easy. And the bank will NOT tell who you have inadvertently paid ("Data Protection Rules" they will say).

trowelhead

1,867 posts

151 months

Wednesday 6th January 2016
quotequote all
Ozzie Osmond said:
Ozzie's tip!

WHENEVER you have to send a large amount of money to somebody new by electronic transfer ALWAYS send an initial amount of, say £100, as a test. Then PHONE the intended recipient to check that it has arrived safely before sending the rest. This approach has served me well for many years.

Leaving aside fraud, it's amazing how easy it is to accidentally transpose digits or make other simple mistakes when sending or entering bank account details or transaction references.
Superb tip!

Nasty scam this though.

So what is the safest way to do this? Cheque in the solicitors office? Chip and pin card payment in solicitors office?

Or use the method above?

Evolved

4,079 posts

217 months

Wednesday 6th January 2016
quotequote all
Wow, truly awful experience, imagine that happening!

tight fart

3,600 posts

303 months

Thursday 7th January 2016
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andy43

Original Poster:

13,246 posts

284 months

Thursday 7th January 2016
quotequote all
tight fart said:
That's even worse!
Solicitors office, in person - or the brilliant tip above of testing the water with a small transaction first.

Burwood

18,718 posts

276 months

Thursday 7th January 2016
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Terrible thing but the article doesn't tell you that the transfer was most likely not to an account bearing the lawyers name. It sounds harsh bug you really have to be a bit daft to fall for that...our bank account is being audited use another account.

If the lawyers email was hacked, as appears to be the case here then the law society fund should pay.