The Australian property sector is at a historic crossroads. A recent increase in cyber scams and payment frauds has led to over $20 million caught up in restrained assets, made up of 17 properties. The real estate industry is quickly becoming the chief conduit for dirty money. Digital identity solutions could provide a missing remedy to help improve security and lower risk.
Scam activity is getting more advanced, with email interception and impersonation increasing. Consequently, the MLS sector is scrambling. Cybercriminals are now more often impersonating the agent or conveyancer to hijack their communications and redirect large sums of money. 2023 saw payment redirection scams result in losses of AUD $16.2 million. When we look at all types of business losses, the total more than triples, to over AUD $90 million.
"Real estate is becoming one of Australia's biggest targets for scams and fraud. We're seeing cybercriminals impersonate agents or conveyancers, intercept communications, and redirect large payments, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars, to fake accounts." - Andrew Black, Managing Director at ConnectID
The Australian Federal Police announced this week they had disrupted a criminal syndicate that had laundered up to $190 million. They relied on real estate, cryptocurrency, and front businesses, illustrating the staggering breadth of this growing concern.
Digital identity solutions provide a powerful tool to help mitigate these threats by providing for trusted, context-appropriate, minimal information verification. These solutions further cut down on duplication of data among private sector companies, making transactions less cumbersome and more secure.
"Strong identity is the foundation of any secure system. You're vulnerable when you don't know exactly who's on the other end of a transaction or communication. Scammers exploit that uncertainty."
"The message is simple: you can't protect your business or your clients against new and evolving threats with outdated processes. Scams are becoming more sophisticated, and regulation, more strict. Now is the time to modernise your identity systems and protect your digital front door."
The real estate sector will be subject to greater obligations under Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing regime from 2026. The Digital ID Act 2024 creates new privacy and security standards for identity verification. It points toward the critical need for strong digital identity solutions.
"Digital identity lets individuals verify their identity using an organisation they already trust, like their bank, to hold their data without having to share whole identity documents or overshare information. For example, with a few clicks you can confirm to a broker your address details without needing to share anything else. There's really no need to email scanned copies of your bills or driver license." - Andrew Black, Managing Director at ConnectID
"Digital identity gives you a secure, and seamless way to verify people, reduce fraud, and build trust."
"Real estate deals involve many parties - sellers, agents, brokers, buyers, conveyancers - but their communication is often unstructured and insecure. Critical details like bank account numbers or settlement instructions are still being sent via email." - Andrew Black, Managing Director at ConnectID
