Lawyer must pay R1.4 million he accidentally paid into scammer's bank account

Hanno Labuschagne

Hanno Labuschagne

Journalist
Staff member
Joined
Sep 2, 2019
Messages
5,519
Reaction score
3,805
Lawyer must pay R1.4 million he accidentally paid into scammer's bank account
  • A Gauteng attorney has been found liable to pay his clients R1.4 million after he transferred their money to a fraudster’s account.
  • The scammer had intercepted email correspondence between the client and the attorney and sent fake account details.
  • The money was from the sale of a property.
A Gauteng attorney has been found liable to pay clients R1.4 million, the proceeds of the sale of a property they owned, which was stolen through a “business email compromise”.
lawyer-must-pay-clients-r14-million-stolen-by-scammer


[GroundUp]
 
Seems like quite a common scam.
 
If I was an attorney, from today, all clients will need to come into the office in person and apply for funds to be paid out. There will be a two year waiting period before payment is made and clients may not change bank accounts in this waiting period. This is to ensure that there is no scams committed.
 
rvZA said:
If I was an attorney, from today, all clients will need to come into the office in person and apply for funds to be paid out. There will be a two year waiting period before payment is made and clients may not change bank accounts in this waiting period. This is to ensure that there is no scams committed.
Click to expand...
Luckily you are not an attorney.
 
rvZA said:
If I was an attorney, from today, all clients will need to come into the office in person and apply for funds to be paid out. There will be a two year waiting period before payment is made and clients may not change bank accounts in this waiting period. This is to ensure that there is no scams committed.
Click to expand...

The legal profession is already regarded as a bunch of rogues and on a par with estate agents. Try that and you won't be in business for long.
 
B-1 said:
Seems like quite a common scam.
Click to expand...

rvZA said:
If I was an attorney, from today, all clients will need to come into the office in person and apply for funds to be paid out. There will be a two year waiting period before payment is made and clients may not change bank accounts in this waiting period. This is to ensure that there is no scams committed.
Click to expand...

Lawyers are now wising up. When I sold a property last year, the conveyancing attorney had a caution in their e-mail signature about this type of fraud. And they got my bank details by making me fill in and sign a form when I went in to sign the other papers.
 
rvZA said:
If I was an attorney, from today, all clients will need to come into the office in person and apply for funds to be paid out. There will be a two year waiting period before payment is made and clients may not change bank accounts in this waiting period. This is to ensure that there is no scams committed.
Click to expand...
Yeah right until you are the beneficiary of a payout.
 
lotus123 said:
Why do we still need attorneys for property deals? They only add costs and unnecessary processing time.

The technology exists to remove them from the equation (APIs, Blockchain for business).
Click to expand...


Not only has Schindlers Si successfully created, in house, the first crypto utility token, a world first for a law firm, but they have created various legal models for the tokenisation of property. You will soon be able to transfer your property instantly on your phone, the estate agent being instantly paid his/her commission, with the buyer or seller not having to pay a cent to a conveyancing attorney.
Click to expand...

FB Link
 
I think someone in the deeds office is in on this.

When I sold a property, the second the deed was finalized at the deed office my conveyancer received one of these "change of details" emails.

Luckily they weren't retarded and just ignored it.

"Intercepting emails" - what a joke :D
 
clickingbuttons said:
I think someone in the deeds office is in on this.

When I sold a property, the second the deed was finalized at the deed office my conveyancer received one of these "change of details" emails.

Luckily they weren't retarded and just ignored it.

"Intercepting emails" - what a joke :D
Click to expand...
I'd put good money on some of them being perpetrated by insiders at the deeds office.
 
rvZA said:
If I was an attorney, from today, all clients will need to come into the office in person and apply for funds to be paid out. There will be a two year waiting period before payment is made and clients may not change bank accounts in this waiting period. This is to ensure that there is no scams committed.
Click to expand...
Apart from the 2 year waiting period scam that is?

The bank said Mr Simelane had opened the account following a FICA process. His identity had been verified and proof of residence obtained and there was no reason to suspect that the account was going to be used for fraudulent purposes.
Click to expand...
Mr Simelane was not an anonymous client and there was no evidence that the bank should have conducted due diligence on the account or that it could have prevented the receipt of funds into it.
Click to expand...
It seems like Standard Bank is 100% sure that this Mr Simelane did not use any fraudulent documents (real SA ID and proof of residence) to open a bank account.

The lawyer can sue Mr Simelane to recover the funds he paid into the incorrect account.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter