You protect client account funds and completion payments by treating every request to change bank details as suspect and verifying it by phone on a known number before any money moves. Back that with strong email security, multi-factor authentication, application allowlisting and staff training, and you close off the way these scams work. Completion-day payment fraud is the single biggest risk a conveyancing firm faces.
Large sums move on known dates in conveyancing, and criminals watch for exactly that. They send a convincing email, often from a real but compromised mailbox, asking your firm or your client to send funds to a new account. Here’s how to stop it.
1. Verify every change of bank details
Make it a firm rule that no change to payment details is ever accepted on an email. Confirm it by calling a known, pre-agreed number, never one from the email itself. Tell clients at the start of every matter that your bank details won’t change, and that they should call a named contact to check anything that says otherwise.
2. Lock down email
Email is where these attacks begin. Managed filtering, impersonation protection and multi-factor authentication on every mailbox make it far harder for a criminal to read your mail, pose as you, or compromise an account in the first place. Monitoring can also flag a hijacked mailbox, such as new forwarding rules, before damage is done.
3. Protect the devices and accounts
Application allowlisting and endpoint protection stop the malware that criminals use to get into a firm and watch for a completion. Strong authentication keeps accounts out of their hands. The harder it is to get in, the harder it is to run the scam.
4. Train everyone, and have a plan
Regular training and simulated phishing keep your team alert to the warning signs, and clear written warnings to clients near completion protect both sides. Have a simple plan, including who to call at your bank, in case money is ever sent in error, because speed is everything in a recovery.
For most conveyancing and high-street firms, this sits within fully managed IT and security at about £45 to £100 per user per month, billed per user with no surprise charges for support calls.
Why conveyancing firms choose First Stop IT
First Stop IT has supported businesses since 2002, including conveyancing and high-street law firms, and we know the software your practice runs every day: LEAP, Oyez forms, eSigner, BigHand, Sage Payroll, PTP and Xero, alongside Microsoft 365. We support conveyancing and high-street firms in Harlow, Bishop’s Stortford, London and across Essex and Hertfordshire. Our credentials include:
- Cyber Essentials Certified
- IASME Cyber Assurance (Gold)
- NCSC Assured Service Provider (Cyber Advisor for Cyber Essentials)
- Microsoft Partner
- Crown Commercial Service Supplier (G-Cloud)
- Quality Principles Certified
We look after more than 2,000 endpoints across 50 companies, we’ve been named a Top 50 UK MSP for three years running, and we support organisations with 10 to 100 employees across Essex, Hertfordshire and London, including Harlow and Bishop’s Stortford.
Book a free IT and cyber security review
Worried about payment fraud on your completions? Book a free IT and cyber security review with First Stop IT and we’ll check your email security and your verification process.