A homebuyer narrowly avoided losing $1.2 million to scammers after a Westpac banker identified a crucial discrepancy in an email that appeared to be from her solicitor. The incident occurred as the buyer was preparing to finalize the purchase of a $1.7 million property.
The homebuyer, a mother from Western Australia, received an email instructing her to urgently transfer $1.2 million of her savings ahead of the property settlement. The email seemed to originate from her legal representative and included instructions on how to increase her daily online banking payment limits.
Concerned about the tight deadline, the buyer contacted Westpac personal banker Neet Kukreja. Ms. Kukreja, who had been assisting the client for six months, noted the customer's distress. "The customer was quite panicked, and she said she needed to make a transfer right away," Ms. Kukreja stated. Recognizing the urgency, she advised the client to visit a branch to discuss the matter in person.
Ms. Kukreja harbored initial suspicions because the bank typically manages settlement transfers directly, rather than through the buyer. Her doubts intensified when she reviewed the content of the emails, finding the tone informal and uncharacteristic of her client's solicitor. These suspicions were further fueled when she noticed a misspelling in an email address within the chain, where "Westpac" was written as "westtpac," with an extra 't'.
Ms. Kukreja also cross-referenced information within the email chain. She observed an email purportedly from a Westpac employee confirming the solicitor's instructions. However, a check on Microsoft Teams revealed that the employee was on leave and could not have sent the message. "They'd copied everything else, even her email signature, perfectly. It was nearly - nearly - a perfect replica," she noted.
Contact with the solicitor confirmed that their email account had been compromised, validating Ms. Kukreja's suspicions. The homebuyer was reportedly in shock upon realizing how close she had come to losing her life savings. "When she realised how close she had come, she was in tears," Ms. Kukreja said.
This incident highlights the growing sophistication of Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams. According to data from the National Anti-Scam Centre, payment redirection scams cost victims $166.8 million in the past year, with BEC emerging as one of the most financially damaging cybercrimes in Australia.