Remote Working, Rising Risk: Friday Afternoon Fraud in Todays Conveyancing World

Friday Afternoon Fraud is a type of payment diversion or authorised push payment (APP) fraud and sees fraudsters targeting house deposit payments as well as sale proceeds.

Jonathan Rolande said the situation had been worsened by the Covid pandemic: “It’s become a worse situation since things have become remote.”

A typical Friday Afternoon Fraud attempt sees a scammer access the email account of either the home buyer or the solicitor in charge of the sale or purchase. The scammer then poses as the solicitor and sends false bank information to the buyer, directing them to make a payment using the new information, or vice versa.

Rolande said: “Not only is it a problem, if that kind of money goes missing from the person who’s the victim, but you can imagine there is an incredible incentive for people to commit crime. Unfortunately, it’s one of those awful crimes where you only need to be lucky once as the criminal, and you might get hundreds of thousands of pounds.”

Commenting on why Friday Afternoon Fraud scams are so effective, Sarah Dwight said:

“I think it’s because of the emotional side of moving house, the buyer is just desperate to get into their dream home, the seller just wants to make sure that they can sell it, and if they’re moving on, moving into their next dream home and I think that they let their guards down.”

Personal Information & Hacked Accounts

Personal data has become a valuable commodity on the dark web, where hackers buy and sell the account details of millions of people every month. This concerning trend has led to an increase in cybercrime, as criminals use this information to steal money, and identities, and commit other fraudulent acts. The ease of access and the anonymity offered by the dark web make it an ideal marketplace for these criminals.

From banking details to passwords, personal data is sold for a profit, causing immeasurable damage to unsuspecting individuals - especially when passwords can be used to gain access to email and social media accounts, helping fraudsters choose the perfect time to make a Friday Afternoon Fraud attempt.

Conveyancers & Remote Working

With the rise of remote working as a result of the pandemic, there has been a noticeable increase in the risk of fraud. As people are working away from their colleagues and supervisors, it becomes easier for fraudsters to take advantage of this situation.

At home, conveyancers may not have the same level of supervision, nor may their home office networks have the same level of security (such as firewalls) - making them more vulnerable to cyberattacks and fraud attempts.

Law Firm Bank Details

Rolande suggests that buyers verify the bank account information provided at the beginning of the process and solely utilise that information.

To ensure both parties are confident, you can request that your client sends a small initial payment to the bank details they received. Once you receive this payment, you can confirm its receipt with them.

During the confirmation step, you should remind the client that your bank details will remain constant throughout the transaction. Additionally, you should alert them to the possibility of fraudsters attempting to target them during the process.

At Safe Capital we provide a secure platform that enables firms to share their bank details, take payments and obtain client bank details too - mitigating the risk of Friday afternoon fraud. To find out more contact us today.