Estate agent sent my flat deposit cash to Mr Jihad in Istanbul

Lisa fell victim to an email fraud that’s becoming chillingly common

FrAUDstErs are hacking the email accounts of people moving home to steal their cash, Money Mail can reveal.

the crooks are targeting property owners and tenants who are owed money from the proceeds of a house sale or a returned deposit.

After gaining access to the victim’s emails, the fraudster sends messages to a solicitor or estate agent posing as the customer owed cash.

they provide details of where to send the proceeds of a house sale or tenancy deposit that is due to be returned.

Unless the firm realises the email is fraudulent, the solicitor or estate agent will send the money to the crook’s bank account. the fraudster will quickly move the money to another account, where it can’t be traced.

the scam victim often has no idea this has happened until they ask about the missing funds and find vast sums have disappeared.

in one case seen by Money Mail, fraudsters stole £309,000 from a couple in their 70s who’d just sold their flat.

in another, an estate agent sent cash to a bank account in istanbul owned by someone called Jihad.

Until now, fraudsters have typically posed as solicitors and estate agents to trick customers into sending cash to the wrong place.

Now they have started impersonating customers, too.

it took Christine and roger Wilkinson, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, more than 12 months to claw back £250,000 of the £309,000 lost to the scam.

the retired couple had hired solicitor firm the Partnership, based in Guildford, to help them sell their flat in teddington, Middlesex, in 2015.

But a week after their sale completed they still hadn’t received the money.

When they called their solicitor, they were told the £309,000 had been transferred into their tsB bank account. But they didn’t bank with tsB. the Wilkinsons then discovered emails sent to their solicitor asking for the money to be transferred into an account that wasn’t theirs.

the fraudsters had posed as Christine and sent fake bank statements with the couple’s names on as evidence that the new account was genuine.

When the solicitor asked for a new transfer Of Funds to be signed, the crooks forged Christine’s signature by copying it from another document they had found in the couple’s email account.

it was reported to the police, who believe the Wilkinsons are the victims of an international organised crime syndicate.

Christine, 71, says: ‘We were in complete shock. it’s frightening that someone was able to do this so easily and take the lot.’

it took Christine and roger, retired market researchers, until last November to agree a payout with the solicitor’s insurers for 82 pc of the sale price — just over £250,000.

Peter Ambrose, of the Partnership, says: ‘ While the Partnership was not found guilty of any negligence or dishonesty, we have the greatest sympathy for the Wilkinsons’ plight and are so sorry they were targeted by such devious individuals.’

A spokesman for tsB says: ‘When a bank account application is received, it’s carefully checked. But financial crime can be sophisticated and complex. Unfortunately we can’t prevent all frauds’.

Lisa Kingdon was left £685 out of pocket after her letting agent paid her deposit to fraudsters.

the problem began last March, when Lisa, 29, decided to move back in with her parents in shepperton, Middlesex, while she saved to buy her own home nearby.

Having left her London flat in good condition, Lisa did not expect any problem getting her deposit back from her letting agent, Winkworth.

But weeks went by and, after emails back and forth, the money still had not arrived.

Finally, it emerged that Winkworth had paid the deposit to a fraudster.

the email account of Lisa’s former housemate had been hacked and criminals used the information from correspondence with Winkworth to create a fake email address similar to Lisa’s to contact the letting agents.

the hackers sent an email to Winkworth requesting her money be paid to a bank account in istanbul, under the name of Jihad Hassan Elhassanie.

the agency claims it had a phone call confirming the money should be transferred abroad.

Despite having Lisa’s correct email address and phone number in its records, the landlords failed to spot the fraudster was using a different account.

And no one called Lisa to check she really wanted the deposit to go to Mr Elhassanie.

Lisa, who works in tV as a senior edit assistant, says: ‘When i realised what had happened i felt panicky. i called my dad, because he’s the first person i go to with things like this.’

Lisa’s case was reported to Action Fraud and has been passed on to Hampshire Police, who are investigating the crime.

After being contacted by Money Mail, Winkworth agreed to repay Lisa’s deposit.

the firm did not respond to requests for a comment.

Last year, the solicitors’ trade body, the Conveyancing Association, sent a warning to members warning of email fraud.

it urged that email communication be avoided when possible, especially about financial matters, and advised against transferring money online.

Property expert Kate Faulkner, managing director of landlord advice firm, Propertychecklists, says: ‘this kind of scam is scary. All parties must be sure to check and check again before sending money. Just one call to verify that an email is genuine can ensure such cases are avoided.’