The Society has learned that, unbeknownst to a solicitor, his practice’s email account was hacked through a phishing email. The party responsible began reviewing the solicitor’s emails and identified a client who was in the process of purchasing property.

Next, the fraudster created a similar named email account and emailed the client directly with instructions to lodge the balance of the purchase price to a bank account he had control of.  A few days later, the solicitor was looking to close the sale and emailed the client with instructions to lodge the balance of the purchase price to his client account. At this point, the fraud was identified and the client was the victim. 

It is recommended that solicitors inform their clients at the outset, and in writing, that they will never send bank account details by email. Utilising the Section 68 letter or a Service Level Agreement may be the most convenient way of informing the client of this.