Hey Pokkit, I’m James, a conveyancing solicitor. I’ve just had an email from the buyer’s solicitor asking us to send completion funds to a different bank account than the one originally provided.
They’ve attached a PDF with the new account details. It feels unusual. Can you take a look before I proceed?
Hi James — yes, that does sound unusual, and it’s sensible to pause before sending anything.
A last-minute change to bank details for completion funds is a common fraud red flag. Please don’t transfer any money until the new details have been independently verified.
If you want, send me the PDF and I’ll help you assess the risk and suggest the safest next steps.
Understood. I’ve attached the PDF they sent over.
The email says the seller has “updated their banking arrangements” and wants all completion monies sent to the new account today.
Thanks, James. Based on what you’ve described, I’d treat this as high risk until proven otherwise.
Key concerns:
- Change of bank details close to completion
- Pressure to act today
- Payment redirection, which is a known fraud pattern
Safest next steps:
- Do not use the new account details yet.
- Call the buyer’s solicitor using a trusted number you already hold, not one from the email or PDF.
- Verify whether they genuinely sent the request.
- If genuine, separately confirm the seller’s updated bank details through your normal internal verification process.
Would you like me to help you draft a cautious reply?
Yes please. I also noticed the wording is a bit off compared with their usual emails, which is why I hesitated.
That’s another useful warning sign.
You could send:
“Thank you for your email. Given the change to completion account details, we are unable to rely on amended bank information sent by email alone. Please note we will not transmit completion funds to the newly provided account unless and until the change has been independently verified through established channels. We will contact your office using existing contact details to confirm.”
If you reach them by phone and they deny sending it, treat it as a likely email compromise or impersonation attempt and stop the transaction until your team has escalated it internally.
If you want, I can also help you draft a shorter internal alert for your colleagues.
That’s helpful. Please give me a short internal alert I can drop into Teams for the rest of the conveyancing team.
Of course — here’s a concise version:
Internal alert: We’ve received an email requesting a change to completion bank details, with urgency to send funds today. This may be a payment diversion fraud attempt. Please do not rely on amended bank details sent by email alone. No funds are to be transferred unless the change has been independently verified using trusted contact details and our normal verification process.
If you’d like, I can also turn that into a more formal version for compliance or file notes.
