Attorney beware – there's a scam targeting conveyancers

The tables have been turned on South African attorneys: instead of having to help clients affected by fraud, they are finding themselves the victims. This particular fraud targets attorneys doing conveyancing work. It involves a series of e-mails, apparently sent from the attorney’s clients, just as funds are about to be released after transfer. The e-mail nominates a new bank account into which the proceeds of the sale are to be paid, and after the funds are paid into this account, the fraudsters withdraw the money. This week leading legal journalist and writer Carmel Rickard takes a look at a new judgment of the High Court featuring just such a fraud. The case was brought by clients who lost money through the scam, who are suing the attorneys mandated to see to transfer of the property they had sold. In the view of these clients, they were entitled to summary judgment against the attorneys because the lawyers had failed to carry out their mandate. It’s an essential read for anyone selling property – as well as for all attorneys, particularly those involved in conveyancing. Now that the Attorneys Insurance Indemnity Fund has decided it will no longer cover ‘cyber crime’ it’s crucially important that the operation of the scam become widely known, for the safety of client and attorney alike. The full article, which will be delivered to subscribers tomorrow, is now available on the Legalbrief site.

A Matter of Justice