‘We were scammed out of £81,000 when buying a house’
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Dear Which?,
My partner and I were on track to exchange on a house when we were called by scammers posing as our solicitors to arrange the transfer of funds.
The caller couldn’t answer some of our questions, which raised our suspicions. However, they told us that they were from the accounts team and we were advised to speak to our conveyancing solicitor for answers. This put our minds at ease.
We transferred £80,500 through Halifax’s banking app. When it prompted us to confirm what the money was for, we selected the house icon. Two days later, we called our solicitors to follow up on the payment and were told that they had never received the money.
It was then that we realised that we’d been scammed by fraudsters who had hacked and monitored the email exchanges between ourselves and our solicitor. When we contacted Halifax, we were told that we’d only be reimbursed half of the money. Halifax said that we were liable for the other half as we ignored the warning on the app.
We really need your help. Is there anything you can do?
Mark Wilson and Lisa Taylor*
Put to Rights
Tali Ramsey, Which? consumer rights expert, says: This is a shocking example of a very sophisticated type of scam, which is known as ‘Friday afternoon fraud’. It's called this because lots of homebuyers transfer funds to their solicitor on a Friday. Scammers can take advantage, knowing that they will have the weekend to cover their tracks and make the money disappear.
Thankfully, there was a positive resolution in your case. Which? contacted Halifax on your behalf asking it to re-evaluate its decision not to reimburse you due to how hard it was for you to spot the scam. After a review, it fully reimbursed your losses, agreeing that the scam was very difficult to notice. It did however mention that its banking app explicitly warns users to contact their solicitor before transferring any funds.
This is good advice. Before sending any large sum of money, it’s a good idea to call the recipient on a trusted number to double check their account details. You could also send a nominal amount first and confirm receipt before sending the lump sum.
If you fall victim to this type of scam you should contact your bank immediately. If you are unhappy with its decision, you can escalate the case to the Financial Ombudsman.
You can also check if your email addresses or passwords have been hacked at haveibeenpwned.com.
*names changed
Need to know
- Download our letter template to write to the Financial Ombudsman if you’re unsatisfied with your bank’s decision.
- Make sure you scan your device for malware – we have guides on the best antivirus software for Windows and for Mac.
- Understand how to report scams.
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