A couple who were about to buy their dream home lost half a million dollars after a hacker tricked them into transferring their money.
The Melbourne couple, one of whom works in finance and IT, transferred $500,000 to a cunning scammer who they hacked into his lawyer’s web server.
They believed the email had been sent by their estate agent, a specialist lawyer, and therefore had no problem sending the money to a stranger. Bank account.
Only later did they receive a call from their lawyer, who told them that no such transfer had ever been requested.
“My stomach dropped immediately. I explained to her that the request had come from her email account, but she said she hadn’t sent it,” the couple said. realestate.com.au.
‘He checked his emails and found nothing, so within a couple of hours he was at the police station reporting that we had been scammed.
“I immediately felt panic, stress and tears. I told my husband: ‘I have ruined our lives. We have lost all our money.’ I cried a lot.”
The couple’s bank and the one used by the scammer refused to accept responsibility and police said the money had already been transferred. cryptocurrency and was therefore impossible to trace.
A Melbourne couple were scammed out of half a million dollars after receiving an email they thought was from their specialist solicitor asking for their money.
The couple was about to buy their dream home when one of them realized their mistake. “I told my husband, ‘I’ve ruined our lives.'”
Police confirmed that the couple’s agent was the one compromised by the hackers and that the IP address associated with the fake email came from abroad.
The couple are still waiting to see if their property indemnity insurance will recover their lost fortune, as the money they sent will likely never be recovered.
Scams like this have been occurring more frequently lately, according to Julijiana Todorovic, a partner at Brisbane law firm Slater and Gordon.
The “worrying increase” has been caused by the rapid development The cyber fraud landscape “has evolved faster than the law has been able to keep up,” Todorovic said.
Even if the Melbourne couple’s scammer is found, authorities can’t do anything about it as they are not in Australia.
The Australian Institute of Lawyers (AIC) has been working with the Australian Banking Association to try to strengthen security systems to prevent more scams like this in the future.
AIC Victoria operations manager Mark Powers confirmed the industry has worked to minimise the risk, but not all lawyers are members of the industry group.
Sophisticated scammers have been more successful lately, in part due to advances in artificial intelligence.
Mr Powers blamed the growing number of scams for creating greater… Insurance policy premiums for clients.
David Willett, director of information technology security at PEXA, Australia’s largest digital transfer company, said hackers were getting better because AI was getting smarter.
AI has been “beneficial to the bad guys,” but conscious thinking on the part of the consumer can help people avoid falling into similar traps, he added.
Mr Willet urged anyone who receives an email requesting personal information with a “sense of urgency” to think twice before proceeding.
Hackers usually try to get their victims to send money or they may request that they send money. usernames, passwords, or banking or credit card information.
The ACCC’s Scamwatch has recorded $91.6 million stolen from Australians in 2023 in redirection scams, but Willett said the real amount was likely to be much higher.