File one: the changed account on a settlement
You act for a buyer. Two days before settlement the buyer forwards an email from “the seller’s conveyancer” with new trust account details and a request to pay by tomorrow. The email address is a letter different from the conveyancer’s real one.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre warns that criminals insert illegitimate bank details for settlement payments and focus on impersonating conveyancing lawyers. The advice is to confirm any change by calling the sender’s established phone number, or meeting them face to face, before transferring any funds.
The right move: tell the buyer not to pay, ring the conveyancer on a number from your own file, and let them confirm. If the email was false, tell the real conveyancer, your supervising solicitor and, if trust money is involved, the Law Society.
Remember
- The buyer does not pay until you have confirmed by phone.
- Use a number from your own file.
- Tell the real conveyancer and your supervisor.
Facts and sources for this part
- The Australian Cyber Security Centre warns that criminals target all parties in the real estate sector, with a particular focus on impersonating conveyancing lawyers and communicating with their clients. [S7]
- It advises confirming any change of bank details by calling the sender’s established phone number or meeting them face to face before transferring any funds. [S7]
File two: the executor’s urgent instruction
A client you have not seen for months phones to say she has “changed banks” and wants a large payment from an estate made today to a new account. Her voice sounds right. She is impatient and a little tearful.
The Law Society has reported a scam that used the voice of a client, probably AI-cloned, to direct a firm to pay over $1 million from a deceased’s estate. It also recommends telephoning the client on details already on file, to confirm the instruction, BSB and account number, before large payments.
The right move: do not pay on the call. Ring back on the number on file, ask a challenge question, and have a second person approve the payment. A genuine client will accept the delay.
Remember
- A familiar voice is not enough.
- Ring back on a number from your file; use a challenge question.
- Make a second person approve large payments.
Facts and sources for this part
- A reported scam used the voice of a client, probably AI-cloned, in a call to a law practice, and directed the firm to pay over $1 million from a deceased’s estate into the scammer’s bank account. [S9]
- The Law Society recommends that a practice telephone the client using details already on file, not those in the payment-instruction email, to confirm the instruction, BSB and account number before making large payments. [S9]
File three: money in from nowhere
A foreign cheque arrives from a person you have never met, for “an urgent settlement”, and the sender asks you to send most of it on to a third party today. You have done very little work on the matter.
The Law Society describes an old scam in which a foreign cheque is banked, the balance sent on quickly, and when the cheque does not clear the bank uses the funds of other clients in the trust account to cover the transfer. Receipt of trust money from unknown or unexpected sources is also an irregularity.
The right move: do not send anything on. Ask your bank whether the cheque has actually been collected, tell your supervising solicitor, and report the suspected irregularity to the Law Society as soon as practicable. Reporting is mandatory under section 154 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW).
Remember
- Credited is not the same as collected.
- Suspected irregularities are reportable regardless of the amount.
- Report as soon as practicable.
Facts and sources for this part
- The Law Society describes an old scam: a foreign cheque is banked, the balance sent on quickly, and when the cheque does not clear the bank uses the funds of other clients in the trust account to cover the transfer. [S5]
- The Law Society says an irregularity includes fraud, cyber-crime, or receipt of trust money from unknown or unexpected sources. [S6]
- Reporting trust money irregularities, or suspected irregularities, is mandatory under section 154 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW). [S6]
- All irregularities and suspected irregularities must be reported to the Law Society as soon as practicable, regardless of the monetary value involved. [S6]
File four: the fraud team calls the practice manager
The practice manager gets a call from a man who says he is from the bank’s fraud team. A trust account payment has been “blocked” and he needs the code just sent by text to unlock it. The caller ID shows the bank’s number.
The Law Society says scammers use technology to make a call appear to come from the bank’s phone number, and that a bank will never ask over the phone for one-time security codes. In a reported case, scammers asked for a code and used it to withdraw funds from the trust account.
The right move: do not give the code. Hang up and call the bank on the number on the card or in the banking app. If any code or access was given, contact the bank immediately, then the cyber insurer and the Trust Account Department.
Remember
- Caller ID is no proof.
- Never share a one-time code.
- If you did, bank first, insurer second, Law Society third.
Facts and sources for this part
- The Law Society’s Trust Account Department has seen a significant escalation in scammers calling, emailing or messaging lawyers and pretending to be from their bank, using technology to make the call appear to come from the bank’s own number. [S8]
- The Law Society says your bank will never ask you over the phone for online banking passwords, one-time security codes, PINs or tokens. [S8]
- In a reported case, property professionals were told a trust account payment had been blocked and the account needed a reset; the scammers asked for a code and used it to withdraw funds from the trust account. [S9]
- If you have transferred funds or given access to a scammer, contact your bank immediately to report the cyber incident, then contact your cyber insurer and the Law Society’s Trust Account Department. [S8]
Check what you have learned
Three questions from the test, each explained. Tap an answer.
Question 1 of 3
File one: whom does the ACSC say criminals particularly impersonate in property deals?
Show the answer
Right answer: B, Conveyancing lawyers. Criminals focus on impersonating conveyancing lawyers and communicating with their clients. [S7]
Question 2 of 3
File three: a foreign cheque, with most to be sent on today. What is the risk?
Show the answer
Right answer: B, If it does not clear, other clients’ funds in trust may be used to cover the transfer. When the cheque does not clear the bank will use the funds of clients in the trust account to cover the transfer. [S5]
Question 3 of 3
File four: a code was given before you realised. What is the order?
Show the answer
Right answer: D, Bank first, then the cyber insurer and the Law Society’s Trust Account Department. Contact the bank immediately to report the cyber incident, then the cyber insurer and the Trust Account Department. [S8]