Settlement and early ownership
How to transfer settlement funds safely
Why an emailed bank detail can never be trusted on its own, and how to verify payment instructions before you send a cent.
- Payment redirection scams specifically and repeatedly target property settlement — this isn't a rare or exotic risk.
- Never trust bank details from an email alone — verify by phone using a number you found independently, not one in the message.
- A professional-looking email or a genuine-looking thread doesn't prove payment instructions are real.
- If funds may have already been misdirected, contact your bank immediately — speed matters.
Payment redirection scams specifically target settlement
Scamwatch (the ACCC's scam-reporting service) warns that payment redirection scams — also called business email compromise scams — commonly target property settlement payments specifically, with scammers impersonating a solicitor, conveyancer or other trusted party and sending an email with altered bank account details (ACCC (Scamwatch), verified 1 Aug 2026). This isn't a rare, exotic risk — it's a recurring, well-documented pattern that specifically exploits the fact that a large, one-off payment is expected around settlement.
The core rule
Scamwatch's own advice: "Don't rush to act. Take the time to call the business you are dealing with — using contact details you've found independently — to check the payment details are correct." (ACCC (Scamwatch), verified 1 Aug 2026) Never call a phone number contained only in the suspicious message — look up the firm's number separately (their website, a previous invoice, or your own records) and call that.
Practical rules
Treat any changed bank detail as suspicious by default, however it arrives. A professional-looking email, the correct property address, or even a copied genuine email thread does not prove payment instructions are genuine — scammers commonly compromise real email accounts or use near-identical addresses. Confirm the account name and purpose match what you expect, not just that an account number was provided. Understand your bank's transfer limits and processing times before settlement day, so you're not rushing a large transfer at the last minute. Keep transfer receipts and confirmations.
If you think money has already been sent to the wrong account
Contact your bank immediately — acting fast materially improves the chance of recovering funds. Also notify your conveyancer and report the scam to Scamwatch. Don't wait to see if it resolves itself.
Worked example
Three days before settlement, a buyer receives an email that appears to be from their conveyancer's firm, on a thread that looks like earlier correspondence, saying the firm's trust account details have changed and providing new numbers. Instead of using them, the buyer calls the firm's main office number from their original engagement letter — not any number in the email — and confirms the firm's trust account has not changed. The email was a scam; the firm had no idea it had been sent.
Practical checklist
Before you transfer settlement funds
- Treat any changed bank detail as suspicious, regardless of how it arrived
- Verify account details by phone using a number found independently, not from the message
- Confirm the account name matches who you expect to be paying
- Understand your bank's transfer limits and timing before settlement day
- Keep transfer receipts and confirmations
Questions for a professional
- Can you confirm your trust account details through a channel separate from email?
- What's your process if my bank details change before settlement?
Official resources
Sources and methodology
- Scam alert: Fake business invoice scams — ACCC (Scamwatch) (retrieved 1 Aug 2026)
Figures on this page are drawn from Delora's local knowledge graph, refreshed from these primary sources and checked for changes on a regular schedule. If a figure here looks out of date, the official source above is always the authority — please let us know.