In this blog we discuss everything you need to know about CYBER SECURITY and how to PROTECT YOUR MONEY!

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Hi everybody - George Sourris, Empire Legal.

Today's topic: Cyber security & how to protect your money.

The Australian property industry is worth $7.1 trillion, and people are trying to hack it. They are trying to steal people's money. How does this happen? Conveyancing - property settlements, email phishing. Let's unpack it.

Every 39 seconds on average, somebody in Australia gets hacked. These cyber attacks are costing companies in Australia $29 billion a year.

Let's talk about fishing and not fishing with an "f". Fishing with a "ph". "Phishing" or "email phishing" is when a hacker gets into your emails and they just sit there lurking in the background, watching all the emails coming in, coming out, waiting for the perfect moment - to go phishing, to use the hack and get your money. 

Now in conveyancing, that usually happens when you are sending your money to us for settlement. When you're buying a house, and we're not talking $20 or $30 here, we're talking tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, or sometimes millions of dollars. The technical term here is "spear-phishing". But anyway, let's go on.

We have rules and obligations with our friends at the Queensland Law Society and our insurer, Lexon. We have a practice whereby we will never transfer anything over $10,000 to you unless we get on the phone and verbally confirm bank details. A "phisher" or cyber hacker, they're sitting there waiting for an opportunity to send an email, so it looks like it's come from us, or it looks like it's come from you - changing the bank details, so that you are sending the money or we are sending the money unbeknownst to either of us, to the hacker, and they take the money in, away they go. 

So how do we combat this? It's very simple. Old school. It's called a telephone. Our firm, we will ring and confirm with you verbally your bank details. A huge red flag for our firm is when somebody says, "oh, I'm actually changing my bank details, or I'm changing my mobile number". Huge red flags for us. It's usually where a hacker's gotten in and they're trying to trick us. 

But don't worry, our team at Empire, we're all trained on how to deal with this to make sure that your money is safe.

It's all about being aware and using the trusted processes and techniques to make sure that the funds are protected and that you have a seamless experience when it comes to a usually stressful time of buying or selling a home.

Did you know on average, Australians only transact a property every 11 years - so you're probably not going to remember this stuff from 11 years ago; and to be honest, it was a whole different world. We've got electronic settlements now. Email's a lot more popular. The fax machine has been retired.

Just remember anti virus here, it's not going to keep you safe. Our job is to protect you - not only you, but your property, the transaction, and your money, your hard-earned money. 

If the solicitors you are working with aren't picking up the phone and verbally confirming this stuff, you want to ask the question - why? It's just a matter of time - it's a ticking time bomb - every 39 seconds there's a cyber attack in the country. 

Contact us. We'd love to help. We'd love to work with you.

If you're a real estate agent, a banker, a broker, or a client, please give us a call or an email at any time. 

Thanks guys. 

See you on the next one.

We can help…

For simple, sunny, smooth sailing conveyancing - Empire Legal.

We look forward to continuing to help thousands of Queenslanders every year with their conveyancing!

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Note: all information is general in nature and as each matter is unique please contact our office for tailored advices: the above does not constitute legal advice.