An international cyber-crime investigation has been launched after a sophisticated fraud network sold a home owner’s investment property in Perth, Australia, in June this year without his knowledge.
The website ZDNet.com.au reported that Roger Mildenhall, the owner of the house who has lived in Cape Town for the last year, has lost a whopping A$485k (about R3,2m). The cyber criminals convinced the estate agent that they were the home owners and had enough information on the owner to comply with regulatory requirements.
Mildenhall only became aware of it when a neighbour notified him that they were busy selling a second property using the same methods. He rushed to Australia just to hear that his first property had already been sold.
The sale of the second has meanwhile been prevented.
This scam is regarded as the first of its kind in Australia, but authorities say that the thieves, believed to be Nigerians, will expand their activities.
It is alleged that the fraudsters gained access to Mildenhall’s email and in this way also to his property documents. ZDNet reports that the transaction was done via the Internet, over the phone and by fax and that the estate agent, the banks and the department of land administration have been duped.
The fraudsters had a comprehensive grasp of how property transactions work, as well as knowledge of the necessary legal processes.
The estate agent didn’t think it was strange that the owner preferred to conduct his business electronically as he is living overseas.
SA property experts say although it’s unlikely that it would happen in SA, anything is possible.
Dr Andrew Golding, CE of Pam Golding Properties (PGP), says the digital age makes everyone vulnerable to this type of scheme, especially with investment properties and if the owner lives far from his investment.
He says in order to prevent this, the agent and seller will have to be super alert. “The more vigilant role players are in transactions, the smaller the chance the fraudsters will get away with it.”
Herschel Jawitz, CE of Jawitz Properties, says he doesn’t understand how the transfer process works in Australia, but in SA a comprehensive transfer system exists. This includes estate agents, conveyancers, SARS and the Deeds Office.
He says it would require an extremely sophisticated fraudster to get past all the control points with false documents. However, he says the digital age heightens the risk of this type of fraud.
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