Property settlement scams, while not widely prevalent, can be devastating due to the large sums of money involved and the emotional toll on both homebuyers and sellers. New research shows how they work and details steps to mitigate risk.
In a recent survey conducted by property exchange platform PEXA, a high percentage of respondents failed to spot scam markers in property transaction emails, despite most believing they could identify fraud attempts.
The results coincide with the release of PEXA’s latest White Paper, Safeguarding your Property Settlement: Awareness and Prevention of Scams, written by PEXA’s Chief Information Security Officer Graham Fairley.
“Property transactions involve large sums, short time frames and routine reliance on email – the exact conditions that cybercriminals exploit”, Fairley said.
“These scams, typically executed via business email compromise, are using increasingly sophisticated measures to trick victims into sending large sums to the wrong bank by impersonating trusted parties in a transaction such as real estate agents, lawyers, or conveyancers.”
Scams might include subtle changes to an email address or a wayward punctuation mark, or emails demanding urgent payment with revised bank details and threatening forfeiture unless immediate deadlines are met. Buyers are often busy, stressed and focused on the transaction outcome, so such changes can be easily overlooked.
Unlike a fraudulent credit card transaction, money lost to scammers in a property transaction can be much more difficult to recoup, Fairley added.
Original Grand Designs Australia host, renowned architect Peter Maddison and PEXA’s Property Scam Awareness Ambassador, urges home buyers and sellers to stay vigilant and always follow the security guidance provided, such as using secure channels, double-checking any unsolicited or urgent email instructions for payment and always verifying any payment details.
“The good news is increased awareness and smart use of technology such as secure settlement tools can help people reduce the risk of falling victim to scammers”, Maddison said.
Red flags for buyers and sellers to look out for include:
- Last minute change of bank details
- Urgency of payment demand
- Altered email addresses
- Unsolicited/unverified requests
- Confirmation of payee warnings
It is recommended that all parties involved in a property transaction follow these guidelines:
- Always use secure communication platforms
- Never trust unsolicited email instructions for payments
- Pay attention to Confirmation of Payee (CoP) warnings. Never ignore these warnings
- Always double-check sender details and be alert to red flags.
The PEXA Research on Property Settlement Scam Awareness was conducted in July 2025by Nature on behalf of PEXA. There were 1,030 respondents nationally, comprising 474 respondents that bought a property in the last year and 556 respondents intending to buy property in the next 12 months.