Stop. Check. Protect.
At Symmetry Legal, we take cyber security seriously – because when you’re buying or selling property, the stakes are high and the risks are real.
August 25-29, 2025, was Scams Awareness Week, and it’s a timely reminder that scammers are becoming more sophisticated, more automated, and more dangerous. The theme this year is about recognising the signs of scams and taking action to protect yourself when navigating the online world (which is an unavoidable reality in itself!).
How Property Scams Work
Scammers don’t just target one party—they cast a wide net. Any participant in a property transaction can have their email account compromised: buyers, sellers, agents, brokers, or lawyers. Once inside, scammers monitor inboxes for keywords or attachments that suggest a property deal is underway.
Then they strike.
They send spoofed emails, often indistinguishable from the real thing, redirecting funds to fraudulent accounts. These operations are highly scalable and often automated, making them difficult to detect until it’s too late.
Cyber Security Is Behavioural, Not Just Technical
It’s easy to think of cyber security as a purely technical issue, but human behaviour plays a huge role. A recent study published in Behaviour & Information Technology highlights how our awareness, habits, and even stress levels can influence our susceptibility to scams. You can read the research here, if you’re technically minded and want to learn more. Basically, the researchers conducted experiments where participants were shown phishing and legitimate emails. The participants who engaged in elaborative processing (that is, thinking more deeply and critically about the message, as opposed to ticking off a checklist of red flags) consistently performed better at identifying suspicious emails. We spoke to the lead author of the study, Dr Dan Conway, who summed it up: “More and more we are realising that the mind is the final battleground in the war for information security”.
It makes sense to see cyber security wholistically as a philosophy and a daily practice, not just an afterthought or something to delegate to anti-virus tools or advisers.
At Symmetry Legal, we believe that education and awareness are just as important as firewalls and encryption. That’s why we talk to our clients about scam risks from the outset, and why we’re always refining our systems and processes to stay ahead.
Our Commitment to Cyber Security
We’ve implemented multiple layers of protection to help keep your transaction safe:
- We never, ever, send bank account details via email.
- We verify all payment instructions by phone using known contact details.
- We use secure communication tools like PexaKEY, Securexchange, and our Client Portal for sensitive information.
- We stay up to date with the latest scam tactics and prevention strategies.
We also encourage our clients to read the whitepaper released by Pexa and follow Scamwatch for updates.
If you’re buying or selling property, make sure you’re working with a legal team that takes cyber security seriously. At Symmetry Legal, we’ve got your back, because protecting your investment is part of our job.
