Beware these property scams that could cost you the price of your home
As technology improves, so does the level of property scams that are currently doing the rounds across South Africa.
This is according to Johnny Henkes of Henkes Nolte-Joubert Attorneys, who says that there is a “particularly” alarming scam that is currently circulating where emails with sensitive information are being intercepted by fraudsters.
“The scam artists will send an email (seemingly from the seller) to the conveyancing firm, changing the details of the legitimate bank account number for the payment of a property sale, to details of a fraudulent one,” Henkes said.
“The emails look legitimate and seem normal, except the seller has not changed bank accounts, nor is aware of any change until it is too late.”
According to Henkes, the emails sent with replacement information are often in the name of the seller but might have a slight difference in initial or second name (or omission of one).
They will often use a generic email address, meaning that sellers and their conveyances/attorneys need to have a strictly in-person or telephonic relationship if possible, he said.
“In fact, any change in the normal protocol should be questioned.”
Tim Akinnusi, executive head: sales and client management in home loans at Nedbank, confirmed that this type of fraud was common – despite not being widely spoken about.
“One of the most common types is hacking into emails or redirecting funds to new beneficiary accounts,” he said.
As a result he urged thas important documents should at all times be signed in person and verification of bank details always completed.
Fake Agents
According to Henkes another scam frequently seen is one where someone posing as a buyer will approach a seller privately and show keen interest, and put in an offer to purchase.
“After a few days, the purported buyer will contact the seller asking for a document to be signed to help him get his home loan approved, which the seller then does (often without reading too much of the document or questioning too much) and then discovers a third party claiming they bought his home,” he said.
“On further inspection, it will be found that the scam artist (the first buyer) has been marketing this home online as an agent, by hijacking the photos off various websites, and has found a buyer, who is also unaware that something is wrong, and who might have paid a large deposit over to the supposed ‘agent’.”
“Documents can be falsified, email addresses cloned, and the list goes on and on – so one needs to be very wary and check every detail when it comes to property sale transactions,” he said.
Read: 3 reasons why now may not be the best time to sell your house
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