Real estate scams prompt warning from anti-scam agency

Real estate companies have lost more than $100,000 to phone scammers pretending to be from major banks.

New warnings to be aware of scammers after a real estate agent lost more than $40,000.

Three real estate and settlement agents have lost more than $100,000 between them after scammers called them, pretending to be from one of the big four banks.

The victims all received phone calls from someone pretending to be from NAB and were told a recent payment from their trust account had been blocked because it was suspicious, or the account needed to be reset.

New warnings to be aware of scammers after a real estate agent lost more than $40,000.

One real estate agent lost $43,080, while two settlement agents lost a total of $64,468.28.

In each case, the scammers knew exactly how much the recent payment was for.

They told the victims they needed a code sent to them in order to unlock the account, but instead used the code to withdraw funds from the trust account.

NAB has implemented a new system to send real-time personalised messages of customers performing out-of-character transactions in the NAB online banking and smartphone app.

Western Australia’s Commissioner for Consumer Protection Trish Blake says it’s disturbing how realistic the scam appeared to be, and is urging consumers and businesses to be vigilant.

“If you receive a call from your bank, no matter how legitimate they may seem, never give out personal details or access codes over the phone,” Ms Blake said.

“The best thing to do is hang up and call your bank back from a known number such as the one on their website or a bank statement.

“It’s unfortunate, but always assume you are talking to a scammer.”

She recommended consumers should set up two-factor authentication on their bank accounts which makes it much harder for scammers to access.

“We know at least one of the victims did not have this set-up.”

Scams in WA can be reported to ScamNet by calling 1300 30 40 54, or on their website.