When you buy a house, the solicitor asks for a few hundred quid at the start to apply for local searches etc so he should of had the correct bank details from the start. Something doesn’t Add up. Also every solicitor I have uses confirms their bank details right at the start in their terms and conditions pack
I would have thought, even if his email were hacked, they must have got information on the sale in order to request the deposit. Seems highly likely there was a lack of idata integrity on the part of the solicitor, which would be actionable.
If his email was hacked then the hackers could have got the information on the sale from the emails in HIS system. That means you cannot deduce that the solicitors had a lack of data integrity.
@DerpBane I suppose it would be a matter of fact to be determined and any advisor or court would doubtless be reliant on whatever expert evidence is available.
Could have happened anywhere but issue somewhere, Trojan etc on his pc or someone passing on the details to an outsider who fished him. Turn on your MFA and use strong password and always check the sender details !
Something like this happened to Linus tech tips. He sent a large sum of money to a company doing work on his house when he received an email from their email address asking for payment. I think the correct thing is to NEVER send large sums of money in situations like this without you first call up and query it first or go see them in person.
I’m an IT professional, and listening to this story I’m 99% sure that it’s the solicitors’ email systems which were hacked. They also almost certainly know about it, which is why they’re insisting on talking to him on the phone only, as they cannot trust their systems yet.
@@DerpBane so I made this comment well over a year ago and don’t remember the detail, but having a quick look at the video again it would have been because (a) they replied to his email, so it wasn’t a blind phishing or even spearphishing attempt from a spoofed address; (b) the solicitor has suddenly started only communicating by phone, which is crazy since it leaves no paper trail, but presumably it’s because either they don’t feel they can trust their own systems or they think they’ve done something extremely wrong and don’t want to incriminate themselves. In theory it would be possible that his email had been hacked, or a man-in-the-middle attack or something was intercepting his email and allowing them to reply with a spoofed reply, but in that case why won’t the solicitor communicate by email if he uses a different account? They themselves obviously think they’re still compromised.
At 3:32 Daniel mentions sending a small value payment. This wouldn't have worked for the caller as the test payment wouldn't have worked ... the scammer would have replied All good - send the balance.
I.T expert report to confirm hack/no hack is appropriate. As for scammers for that amount the bank should be able to track, claw it back surly. Or provide police with details to help.
I am self employed and am often presently surprised when customers are clued up and forward me a tenner or so before forwarding the whole amount after I have confirmed the initial payment. Yes it takes a few more minutes but boy could it save a massive mistake. It also ensures the money owed comes to me and not anyone else. Usually the online banking alerts you if some of the details don’t seem correct and will ask you if you are sure you wish to proceed.
There was a case a few years ago where the solicitor's computer was compromised and a gentleman ended up losing circa. £110k to fraudsters. The email he received seemed legitimate with all the right details and even came from the solicitors systems but he was ultimately held liable.
Why is it so difficult for the banks to trace these thieves. Presumably your bank paid the money to their bank. So we should know which bank the money went to! The receiving bank should be held accountable. The receiving bank has allowed the fraudster to open an account. It seems the banks take no responsibility for allowing there services to be used by criminals. These criminals seem to be able to open and close bank accounts at the drop of a hat. Time for the banks to take some some proper action I think. I hope you manage to get some of your money back.
Usually they have stolen many people's identities and set up new accounts. They then keep sending money through each account until they can spend it on something valuable that they can then sell to achieve the money. They can also send the money to foreign accounts. Its not as simple as it going to one account, which is actually quite difficult and time consuming to resolve if for example you've accidentally paid money into the new account. Now if they've used fake accounts on stolen identities then the banks/police have to identify and contact these people. They can also invest in crypto currency so theres just so many ways these fraudsters can get away with this.
This can happen to anyone, scammers from India make thousands of dollars by pretending to be from Amazon, Microsoft and many people especially the elderly have fallen victim.
![My solicitors have £400,000 of my money but won't progress my house purchase [LBC Legal Hour]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/de3bE8Cjt9I/mqdefault.jpg)
![A 'UNIQUE' question for Daniel [LBC Legal Hour]](/img/n.gif)
Any company that refuses to speak to you on the phone and insists on email should be considered majorly suspect immediately.
That's not what he said. He said the Solicitors were refusing email and would only contact by phone . . . . which is even worse.
Basically every company nowadays though
@@njdenney69 If they suspect the email has been compromised, which appears to be the problem ... then not communicating via email is sensible
If the Estate Agent asked you to use this email company surely they must be in on it.
Aw man I feel sick for this guy.
Buyer beware, great advice about transferring a small amount first then wait for them to come back to you *NOTHING ONLINE IS SECURE, EVER* 🤓
When you buy a house, the solicitor asks for a few hundred quid at the start to apply for local searches etc so he should of had the correct bank details from the start. Something doesn’t Add up. Also every solicitor I have uses confirms their bank details right at the start in their terms and conditions pack
Correct. Just done this myself. Paid them £500 first for the searches and now just paid the final bill through the account already set up.
Because they send you an authentic-looking email with all the right details saying that they've recently changed banks.
Scary. Always best to get the solicitor to write you a letter with their bank details and also do a small test payment.
Sad.
I would have thought, even if his email were hacked, they must have got information on the sale in order to request the deposit. Seems highly likely there was a lack of idata integrity on the part of the solicitor, which would be actionable.
If his email was hacked then the hackers could have got the information on the sale from the emails in HIS system. That means you cannot deduce that the solicitors had a lack of data integrity.
@DerpBane I suppose it would be a matter of fact to be determined and any advisor or court would doubtless be reliant on whatever expert evidence is available.
@pizzaboy4463 true
Could have happened anywhere but issue somewhere, Trojan etc on his pc or someone passing on the details to an outsider who fished him. Turn on your MFA and use strong password and always check the sender details !
This happened to a lady about 10 years ago!
This is a common scam, they usually hack one of the emails and wait till the exact stage of completion… nightmare, worst fear in house buying.
Something like this happened to Linus tech tips. He sent a large sum of money to a company doing work on his house when he received an email from their email address asking for payment.
I think the correct thing is to NEVER send large sums of money in situations like this without you first call up and query it first or go see them in person.
I’m an IT professional, and listening to this story I’m 99% sure that it’s the solicitors’ email systems which were hacked. They also almost certainly know about it, which is why they’re insisting on talking to him on the phone only, as they cannot trust their systems yet.
I'm also an IT professional, how did you become 99% sure?
@@DerpBane so I made this comment well over a year ago and don’t remember the detail, but having a quick look at the video again it would have been because (a) they replied to his email, so it wasn’t a blind phishing or even spearphishing attempt from a spoofed address; (b) the solicitor has suddenly started only communicating by phone, which is crazy since it leaves no paper trail, but presumably it’s because either they don’t feel they can trust their own systems or they think they’ve done something extremely wrong and don’t want to incriminate themselves.
In theory it would be possible that his email had been hacked, or a man-in-the-middle attack or something was intercepting his email and allowing them to reply with a spoofed reply, but in that case why won’t the solicitor communicate by email if he uses a different account? They themselves obviously think they’re still compromised.
This is a well known scam amongst estate agents.
At 3:32 Daniel mentions sending a small value payment. This wouldn't have worked for the caller as the test payment wouldn't have worked ... the scammer would have replied All good - send the balance.
Presumably you should phone the estate agent before and after the test payment, not rely on the email.
I.T expert report to confirm hack/no hack is appropriate.
As for scammers for that amount the bank should be able to track, claw it back surly.
Or provide police with details to help.
This is happening a lot con artists are hacking in to the solicitors email account amd doing this
I am self employed and am often presently surprised when customers are clued up and forward me a tenner or so before forwarding the whole amount after I have confirmed the initial payment. Yes it takes a few more minutes but boy could it save a massive mistake. It also ensures the money owed comes to me and not anyone else. Usually the online banking alerts you if some of the details don’t seem correct and will ask you if you are sure you wish to proceed.
There was a case a few years ago where the solicitor's computer was compromised and a gentleman ended up losing circa. £110k to fraudsters. The email he received seemed legitimate with all the right details and even came from the solicitors systems but he was ultimately held liable.
The man was held liable or the solicitor? Thats aweful.
Always do things by phone!!!
Don't transfer anything via Bacs. Cheques still have a purpose.
Why is it so difficult for the banks to trace these thieves.
Presumably your bank paid the money to their bank. So we should know which bank the money went to! The receiving bank should be held accountable. The receiving bank has allowed the fraudster to open an account. It seems the banks take no responsibility for allowing there services to be used by criminals. These criminals seem to be able to open and close bank accounts at the drop of a hat.
Time for the banks to take some some proper action I think.
I hope you manage to get some of your money back.
Most of the time fraudsters will use money mule accounts for things like this which means It's very hard to track down whom the actual fraudster was
Usually they have stolen many people's identities and set up new accounts. They then keep sending money through each account until they can spend it on something valuable that they can then sell to achieve the money. They can also send the money to foreign accounts. Its not as simple as it going to one account, which is actually quite difficult and time consuming to resolve if for example you've accidentally paid money into the new account. Now if they've used fake accounts on stolen identities then the banks/police have to identify and contact these people. They can also invest in crypto currency so theres just so many ways these fraudsters can get away with this.
Should always use CHAPS
one of his budies in india perhaps
The old fashioned way is better. The old fashioned cheque book. There is no way that I would have emailed even 10% of that money.
Oh come on it was an insider job, he used a dodgy solicitor's.
State agent told him to make new email address mmmmm
@@mrlover4310 exactly. makes me sick how rotton to the core they are and then they pray to God.
This can happen to anyone, scammers from India make thousands of dollars by pretending to be from Amazon, Microsoft and many people especially the elderly have fallen victim.
I smell a rat:- bo guarantees there Is a rat, but I smell one