In Britain, organized crime is suspected of running an elaborate scheme using hacked emails to change bank account details shortly before money transfer during home sells. The scammers will take control of an account of a party involved in the transaction and use the legitimate email address to send a bogus update stating that the bank has changed and provide an account that the hackers control. Authorities believe over £10 million have been stolen in this manner with one seller taking a hit that amounted to £350,000. Tips to avoid being subject to this scam, and many others besides, include avoiding public wifi spots when accessing sensitive data, never revealing password information to customer support, and being wary of emails that appear to be from legitimate sources but asking for login information by clicking on a link provided in the message. Anyone can fall prey to one of the many web based scams that exist so being careful with login information should be of the highest concern.
See, Robert Mendick & Nicole Blackmore, Revealed: Gangs netting millions from house purchase email scam, The Telegraph, January 9, 2016.
Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
