VOI update: Reading the fingerprints of real estate fraudsters

The Verification of Identification regulations now well entrenched in the normal course of conveyancing in South Australia, will be looked upon, one day, as the real estate sector’s ‘fingerprint’ revolution.
When the first fingerprints were taken by William James Herschel around 1860, law enforcement took a major leap forward in efficiency.
In later years, the discovery and use of DNA samples has been tremendously significant.
And I would argue the new, national approach to Verification Of Identification in conveyancing is leading to a fundamental increase in confidence and security in the sector.

What is VOI?

When you ask us to carry out any conveyancing work, we will have to make sure we have taken you through a Verification Of Identification process.
This is not onerous but it can take some clients by surprise, especially those who have been with us for a long time but not had cause to use a conveyancer since the laws came into full effect earlier this year.
You can read a summary of the Verification Of Identification process in South Australia from one of my earlier articles.

VOI in action

A story out of Western Australia shows how these VOI protocols are bringing peace of mind to clients, to our staff and to property managers and real estate agents.
According to an article on the WA Scamnet website, real estate fraud was foiled by the new system.
Criminals from Nigeria emailed a Perth property manager, masquerading as a property owner and asked the manager to sell the property after initially sending through some routine document requests.
The agency followed the suggested guidelines … by sending a confirmation of the change of contact details to the original address on file.
This brought the fraud crumbling to the ground.
The real owners were then able to tell the property manager they had not authorised any sale and lines of secure communication were re-established.
I hope this helps explain why our staff apply the VOI protocols so diligently; a bit of extra work during the verification process can lead to a ‘happily ever after’ outcome.