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The real estate industry is being urged to be extra vigilant following the revelation that a Western Australian agent has lost $329,500 to scammers.
According to a statement from Consumer Protection Western Australia, the victim had received a phone call from scammers posing as their bank and was asked to verify a number of recent transactions on the account.
The scammers then requested remote access to the computer via software the victim had been asked to download, who then handed over a remote access code to the scammers.
Consumer Protection said the scammers had been able to conduct a range of transactions from various trust accounts while on the phone to the victim, via remote access, before the real bank made contact with the victim by call to alert the agent to possible fraudulent activity.
The latest incident follows successful scams against another Western Australian agent and two settlement agents just last month, setting the trio back more than $100,000, as was reported by REB.
Commissioner for consumer protection Trish Blake said it’s a reminder to agents to always use due care and skill — and that means being alert and aware of scammers.
She instructs: “Never assume that a call from your bank, is actually your bank — hang up and call them back on a legitimate number from their website or a bank statement.”
Ms Blake said it’s concerning that the most recent scams have had scammers that know the last few transactions on the accounts — and “makes them sound very convincing”.
“Don’t fall victim to this elaborate and sophisticated scam,” she stressed.
“Your bank will never ask you to give out passcodes or request remote access [to] your computer, so please do not hand this information over to someone you don’t know over the phone.
“I am urging all agents to be exceptionally wary of any calls of this nature.
“If you have been approached and managed to avoid being scammed, please let Consumer Protection know so we can investigate and alert other agents.”
Consumer Protection reported that it is working with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), REIWA, and the Australian Institute of Conveyancers WA (AICWA) to address “this emerging trend of scammers specifically targeting agents”.
It was also noted that ACCC is working with the big four banks to identify how scammers are accessing accounts.
Consumer Protection said that if an agent or business owner thinks they have lost money to a scam to immediately call their bank to see if the payment can be retrieved and report it to Consumer Protection’s WA ScamNet team by calling 1300 30 40 54 or complete a scam report on the website.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Ormsby
Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.
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