Police want to speak to men after property sale funds put into fake account

Detectives say a couple who unwittingly transferred $1 million to scammers posing as their solicitor during a house sale online won’t recover most of the funds. Police want to speak to two men they believe might have more information.

Police want to speak to two men after the cash from a house sale was put into a fraudulent account, sourced from a compromised email address containing alternate banking details.

As part of an appeal for public assistance, police have released CCTV featuring two men whom they believe may have information regarding a business email compromise (BEC) in Sydney’s north shore last year when the offenders posed as the couple’s solicitor and gave them updated bank details into the fraudulent email account before $1 million was transferred.

Police believe this man can help them with their inquiries.

In November 2020, detectives from State Crime Command’s Cybercrime squad were notified after funds had been electronically transferred into a fraudulent account during the settlement period of a property sale.

Further inquiries under Strike Force Urban revealed the recipient’s account details had been sourced from a compromised email address containing alternate banking details.

Police believe this man can help them with their inquiries.

Cybercrime Squad’s Detective Inspector Ian Wright said most of the money had been lost.

“Working with the banks, we were able to recover and return some of the funds but unfortunately the majority of the money was lost,’’ he said.

“It’s a lot of money so they’re feeling very upset about that obviously, but in addition to the financial loss, there’s the emotional side of it and from their own perspective, knowing that their privacy has been compromised and impacted by the scammers involved.’’

Det-Insp Wright urged the community to look closely at the CCTV.

“Detectives investigating this incident believe the two men depicted in the images may be able to assist police with their ongoing inquiries,” said Det Insp Wright.

“The settlement of property, particularly in Sydney, generally involves large amounts of money and the funds in this instance are significant.

State Crime Command Cybercrime Squad Detective Inspector Ian Wright said email phishing was rising.

“We know these scams often target private businesses and government agencies, but a growing number are individuals and families scammed out of their hard-earned cash, as we have seen here.

“Any information from people in the community about BEC scams is valuable to investigators and will help police hold those responsible to account.’’.

Det Wright said it was easy to fall victim to email scams and the pandemic had contributed to scams such as email phishing.

“Business email compromise scams are increasing both in their frequency and in their impact,’’ he said.

“They’re a constant threat to the community.

“Using the pandemic as a theme to contact people via SMS or phone or email, no doubt has provided an opportunity to cyber criminals in that sense.’’

Anyone with information that may assist is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.