Overview
The real estate industry is a top target for cybercrime: in Australia, one in six real estate businesses have been impacted by scams or fraud, and one-quarter have suffered a cybersecurity incident.
Positive Real Estate is a national property investment group operating across Australia. With high-value transactions and a lean finance team, payment security is critical to protecting client trust and business continuity.
After implementing Eftsure, the finance team strengthened payment controls, prevented multiple potential fraud or error events, and reduced the manual effort required to onboard and verify suppliers.
Challenge
The real estate sector is a prime target for payment fraud, particularly business email compromise and bank detail manipulation. While Positive Real Estate already had internal controls in place, including segregation of duties and phone-based verification, the finance team experienced a near miss that exposed a residual risk.
Over the holiday period, a fraudulent email intercepted legitimate correspondence and requested updated bank details for a $200,000 payment. The email appeared authentic and matched prior communications. The only anomaly was a minor change in the CC line.
"It looked the same as always, but the bank details had changed. The only giveaway was a tiny change in the CC line, one letter missing from the domain."
Lynne Sampson, CFO, Positive Real Estate
A team member verified the request by phone and stopped the payment before funds were released. While the incident was resolved, it highlighted the limits of manual verification alone and prompted a search for stronger, independent controls.
Solution
Positive Real Estate implemented Eftsure to independently verify supplier bank details before payments are processed. The platform added an external layer of assurance to the accounts payable workflow, flagging discrepancies in real time.
"We’ve had a few situations where a bank number was transposed by one digit. Eftsure flagged it immediately. That alone has prevented errors or worse."
Eftsure also streamlined supplier onboarding. With many suppliers already verified in the Eftsure network, the finance team reduced phone calls, follow-ups, and document checks.
"We’ve noticed a growing number of our creditors are already verified in the system. That’s been fantastic. It gives us peace of mind and saves time."
The company now requires suppliers to complete Eftsure verification before payments are released, reinforcing compliance and consistency across the process.
"Unless they verify through Eftsure, their payments are held. We’re being really vigilant about that."
International payments remain a challenge, and the team sees strong value in Eftsure’s upcoming international verification capabilities.
"It’s a real pain trying to verify overseas creditors. Time zones and faceless departments make it slow. Having a trusted third party step in will save us time and give us confidence."
Results
Eftsure helped Positive Real Estate strengthen controls without slowing down operations.
- Prevented at least three potential fraud or payment errors
- Flagged incorrect bank details before payments were released
- Reduced manual supplier follow-ups and verification effort
- Faster onboarding for suppliers already verified in the Eftsure network
- Greater confidence through independent bank detail verification
Want to protect your payments and reduce verification risk? Book a demo with Eftsure.
