Dear members,
We know that buying a home is a significant emotional and financial investment. We also understand that when things don’t go to plan it can be one of the most stressful times in yours and your client’s lives. To have that transaction be the subject of fraud is abhorrent and the last thing anyone wants. Therefore, we fully understand the impact being felt by those that have been part of these isolated incidents.
When PEXA was alerted to a case of fraud late last week, we immediately increased our monitoring of potential unusual activity surrounding password resets, new user creations and changes to BSB and account numbers. We have also been actively contacting practitioners to confirm any such activity is legitimate. No new instances of this fraud have been found and these continue to be isolated incidents.
While the PEXA system itself wasn’t compromised, we have also begun work developing additional alerts and processes to further enhance security in the system. Over the next week, PEXA will make changes to the system which will only allow new users to be created in an inactive status meaning PEXA itself will need to enable them. In addition, we’ll be adding a feature to the system which highlights the date, time and specific user that last updated the settlement schedule. These are the first in a number of changes that are being rolled out across PEXA and we look forward to announcing a number of new initiatives over the next few weeks.
It’s important to note that funds cannot be misdirected unless you physically sign off on the fraudulent account details using your bespoke digital certificate and accompanying password so we encourage all members to check the details you’re signing off on prior to applying your digital certificate and password.
We will continue to monitor all workspaces and proactively contact you to ensure any changes on your workspaces are legitimate.
Thank you for your understanding at this time. If you have any concerns, and need to speak to us, please contact the PEXA Support Centre on 1300 084 515, available 8.30am – 8.00pm AEST Monday to Friday.
Sincerely,
James Ruddock, Acting CEO, PEXA
