New scheme to protect homebuyers and the property industry from cybercrime

Oct. 29, 2015 - PRLog -- A new nationwide online service has been launched to protect homebuyers, estate agents and conveyancers from the threat of cybercrime, which is sweeping the property market.

With more reports coming in of people who’ve lost money during the sale or purchase of a property, the new service – Safe Move Scheme – aims to give vendors, agents and conveyancers protection.

In one scam, criminals hacked an estate agent’s email system and were able to clone a buyer’s email address, and then divert money being transferred between the solicitor and vendor. In another recent incident, cybercriminals cloned a buyer’s solicitor’s website and email account, receiving £77,000 transferred by the buyer.

“Recent media attention around fraudsters intercepting money transfers has shown how easily buyers, solicitors and estate agents can be tricked by criminals,” said Ed Powell, creator of the Safe Move Scheme, based in Sidcup.  “Safe Move Scheme, through its Safe Buyer product, offers a secure way for parties to transfer money, and its Safe Mail feature allows for secure message transfer, avoiding the need for emails which are so easily hacked.”

Safe Move Scheme has been developed over the past three years in close conjunction with conveyancers, lenders and estate agents who wanted to develop a means of preventing fraud impacting on their customers.

The software works in this way: when conveyancing firms join the Safe Move Scheme their identity is verified independently and only authenticated bank accounts are added to the Safe Move Scheme database. By logging into the Safe Move Scheme buyers can confirm the legitimacy of the bank details they have been given before they transfer money to their conveyancer. Safe Mail enables conveyancers, consumers, lenders, estate agents and mortgage brokers to exchange messages and electronic files securely without using email.

“We are getting a lot of interest from lawyers and estate agents, and just this week signed up one of the top ten conveyancing firms. I have talked to the Housing Minister Brandon Lewis about the scheme and the Financial Conduct Authority is also aware of it. With the FCA wanting lenders to tighten up their processes and the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority wanting solicitors to do the same, I firmly believe Safe Move Scheme and Safe Mail go a long way to doing so,” Ed said.

“We are offering a free three month Safe Move Scheme trial with no annual membership fee to pay and unlimited use of our Safe Buyer product until 31^st January 2016.”

Conveyancing firms can register at www.safemovescheme.co.uk without any cost or obligation.