How landlords can avoid being victims of cyber crime

Cyber crime is the name given to any criminal activity that takes place online. The aim is usually to gain access to your personal information for the criminal’s financial gain.

For example:

• You may receive a scam email or text, designed to get you to divulge passwords, your PIN or credit card details so that the criminal can use your money to make online purchases
• Someone might hack your device, enabling them to steal your identity and open bank account and credit cards in your name
• Your computer could be targeted with malware that gives the criminal remote access to all the sensitive information stored on it

As a landlord, one of the biggest dangers presented by cyber crime is that if your identity is stolen, a criminal could pose as you to either remortgage or sell your rented property without your knowledge. You might think that this is highly unlikely, but it does happen, as with the case of the Reverend Mike Hall. His identity had been stolen and used to sell the property, with the thief pocketing the proceeds.

The other big risk is if large sums of money - such as deposit funds for a property purchase or the proceeds from a sale - are intercepted and diverted elsewhere. That could be because you’ve been hacked, or someone may have posed as the recipient and given you false account details. 

As landlords rely increasingly on online technology to run their businesses, that presents more opportunities for criminals to take advantage. So it’s more important now than ever before to protect yourself by stepping up your own online privacy and security measures. 

7 key ways to protect yourself against cyber crime:

1. Sign up to the Land Registry’s Property Alert service that will email you if someone tries to change the register of your property.
   
   
2. Always double-check account details for the transfer of funds directly with the person or institution – never simply accept details given over the phone or via email.
   
   
3. Put a restriction on the property’s title, which ensures that a sale or mortgage cannot be registered without a conveyancer certifying that they are satisfied the person transferring or mortgaging the property is the owner.
   
   
4. Ensure all personal mail is redirected to your own primary residence or business address, and is not going to your rented property, where tenants/contract-holders or other individuals could gain access to your information.
   
   
5. Ensure all your devices have a firewall and up-to-date anti-virus software installed.
   
   
6. Don’t access any personal information, including logging into online accounts, across a public WiFi network and, ideally, use a Virtual Private Network (VPN), both at home and in other locations. This encrypts your internet traffic, making it very difficult for hackers to intercept any sensitive information.
   
   
7. Use multi-factor authentication for critical systems and accounts. This is where logging on requires not only a password, but also second layer of verification, such as receiving a code via text message or confirming your identity through an app.

For more information on protecting your property and land from fraud, visit the Government website.

And if you believe you have been the victim of cyber crime, contact Action Fraud, the National Fraud & Cyber Crime Reporting Centre.

We have a dedicated cyber security team so you can be assured we have plenty of technologies, processes, and controls in place to avoid any data we hold being obtained in a cyber attack.