Fraudsters divert 1.1 million euros in Munich property deal

A 60-year-old woman in Munich transferred about 1.1 million euros to a fraudulent bank account while buying an apartment, BR reported. Investigators say unknown perpetrators took over an email account and altered messages between the woman and her estate agent.

The woman and her husband planned to buy an apartment in Bogenhausen for their retirement. The handover of the keys was scheduled for August 17. A few days beforehand, she received an email that appeared to come from the agent, with whom she had been in contact for months, asking her to transfer the agreed purchase price.

On August 14, she went to her bank and arranged the transfer to the account listed in the email. Another message, also apparently from the agent, then said the planned handover had been cancelled. When the woman did not arrive, the real agent called to ask where she was, and the fraud came to light.

Investigators believe the perpetrators gained unauthorised access to an email account, intercepted the genuine payment request and replaced it with a fake one containing different bank details. The woman contacted her bank and police immediately. Some of the money had already been transferred to accounts elsewhere in Europe, but about 900,000 euros was recovered.

Police investigators describe the scam as a new phenomenon in private property transactions, saying they had previously encountered this method mainly in business dealings. They advise people to confirm any changes to bank details through a second, independent communication channel. For property purchases, they recommend checking the IBAN in the notarised deed against later payment requests.