Warnings for agents of computer virus scam

September 15, 2017

Today, The Property Ombudsman (TPO) has issued a warning to all estate and letting agents to act with caution, as fraudulent ‘buyers’ target agents with the latest computer virus scam.

TPO has been alerted to a case by a member agent who received emails from a potential buyer in China. The individual emailed the branch several times expressing a keen interest to make a full asking price offer on a property.

The agent, suspicious of the buyer’s eagerness to act quickly without having viewed the property, asked the individual to send over all personal details including identification documents. When the email came through, the attachments were difficult to open. The agent passed the email to his IT department who confirmed that it contained a series of potentially destructive computer viruses.

It is not known what impact the viruses could have had on the agent’s IT system if it had not been identified.

Gerry Fitzjohn, Board Chairman for TPO commented: “Fortunately in this case, the scam was identified and no company or customer details were compromised.  However, this is a reminder to all agents to be both cautious and vigilant. The importance of antivirus software is a given, but it is not a guarantee against computer viruses, so the best defence is also an educated user. If something seems too good to be true, it usually is. We would urge all agents to circulate this warning amongst staff.”

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