A WA man has been fleeced of more than $150,000 in a racket authorities say is on the rise.
Eleven victims have reported falling victim to payment redirection scams in WA this year, with losses totalling more than $503,000.
That amount surpasses the $501,028 swindled from 29 victims in all of 2023.
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One of this year’s victims was a prospective home buyer who was robbed of $153,950 when scammers intercepted emails sent between himself and his settlement agent.
Authorities said criminals pretended to be the agent and sent messages using a slightly different email address that the buyer did not notice.
They also swapped out bank account information to an account they controlled.
Authorities say payment redirection fraudsters often target “high-value transactions”, including property and car sales, with victims vulnerable because they may be expecting a message requesting payment.
Criminals have also gone after building contracts and funeral payments.
“The large losses from these scams are extremely devastating to the victims,” WA Commerce Minister Sue Ellery said.
“They can be people who have been saving for years for a home deposit that has now been lost to scammers or it could be a business doing it tough that can least afford to lose a large amount of money.”
People handing over money should double check the email address sending them the request for payment, and even call the sender to confirm the request is authentic.
“People working in the industries where large amounts of money are being transacted, and consumers, need to be extra vigilant when acting on payment requests,” Ellery said.
“Be suspicious of any email asking for a payment of money or advising of a change in bank account details to where payments are to be sent.
“We also ask that businesses warn their clients or contractors and train their staff to be scam aware.”