Friday Afternoon Fraud – Housebuyers Scam

I was recently hit by a conveyancing scam known as Friday Afternoon Fraud while in the process of buying a new house. This scam isn’t very well known but can be devastating. So I wanted to write about it to hopefully raise some awareness about this scam to prevent others falling for it.

I’ve also made a YouTube video about this housebuying scam, if you prefer to watch that instead then click below.

What Is Friday Afternoon Fraud?

This scam is named for its tendency to occur on Fridays, just as people are winding down for the weekend. Scammers take advantage of this timing, knowing that funds transferred on a Friday may not be traced until the following Monday, allowing them to vanish with the money over the weekend.

Typically, the targets are estate agents, home buyers solicitors and businesses involved in large transaction transactions. Scammers hack into email accounts, monitor communications for a period, and then impersonate someone to trick you into transferring funds.

How It Works

Hackers gain access to your email account and then monitor your emails. When the time is right, they will impersonate your solicitor, or someone else you are due to send money to, to ask you to send them money. As they are impersonating someone you know, and have all the correct details of the transition you are going to make, it may seem genuine. They try to get the timing right so it doesn’t seem out of the ordinary.

Once you send them the money, it gets transferred between different accounts and often gets transferred out of the country. By the time you realise and contact the authorities, it’s too late.

Our Close Call

The incident began last week when we received a message from our estate agent, indicating that our buyer had been told to transfer their deposit and a completion date had been agreed. Initially, we thought this was just a mix-up as we were not due to complete on that date, or ready to stalk taking dates. However, the next day, we learned that the buyer had indeed been hacked, and someone was impersonating her solicitor.

Thankfully, our buyer did not fall for the scam, but it made me realise how easily such fraud can happen. I immediately checked our own security. I changed my email password and enabled two-factor authentication to add an extra layer of protection. I looked into this scam myself and then discovered it was called Friday Afternoon Fraud.

The following day, I received this email in my inbox (details changed for privacy reasons):

This email looked like it was from my solicitor. It contained:

• My solicitor’s name
• Our deposit amount
• Our reference number
• Our seller’s name
• Our next address

At first glance, it looked like it was from our solicitor’s exact email address, but after looking closer I realised there was one letter missing. But as you can see, the scammers had sufficient personal information to create a convincing email. They knew our buyer’s eagerness to complete quickly, as well as ours, which added urgency to their request for funds. Scammers often pressure victims to act immediately, which can cloud judgment and lead to costly mistakes.

I knew this wasn’t a genuine email because I knew we would not be sending money yet, and also this happened to my buyer two days prior. So I immediately called my solicitor and she reported it to their IT/security team so they could check for data breaches.

I also changed my password again and checked my security settings to make sure nobody else had logged on and there were no email forwarding functions applied.

I then reported it to ActionFraud.

What to Do If You Suspect Fraud

If you think you’ve been targeted, contact your bank immediately. Depending on the circumstances, you might be able to recover some of your funds, although this becomes more complicated if the money is sent abroad.

In my case, I didn’t send the money so I quickly contacted my solicitor’s office, informed them about the scam, and sent them the suspicious email via screenshot over text. They assured me there was no breach on their end, and the security team was notified to investigate further.

Always Be Careful When Sending Money

This experience was a stark reminder that scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Even those of us who consider ourselves knowledgeable about online safety can be caught off guard. It’s essential to stay vigilant, particularly during significant transactions like buying a home.

Protect yourself by:

• Enabling two-factor authorisation on your emails
• Know the process and when you will need to send money
• Know your solicitors will never change bank details
• When you need to make a large payment, speak to them on the phone or go into the office
• Consider sending a smaller test amount before you send
• Be aware that if the tone of the email changes, or if there are typos or different signatures, it may be a scam
• Check the exact email address if you believe it’s a scam

I hope sharing our story will help others recognise the signs of Friday Afternoon Fraud and take steps to protect themselves. Always verify requests for money transfers through secure channels and never feel rushed to act without proper confirmation. Stay safe!

Related posts:

• Why Is Buying A House So Stressful?