Live updates: Scams, data breaches and keeping your info secure — our panel is here to help you unpack it all

The scammers’ first email to Kelly and her husband arrived in the small hours of the night, when they were sleeping.

“Due to the ongoing bank audit on our account,” the email read, “please see attached our subsidiary trust account details for the payment of $25,000 deposit.”

The email address looked legitimate — it was the real estate agent’s.

Kelly and her husband, both young engineers and “tech savvy”, were at the pointy end of buying a house in Western Australia.

And so the next day, Kelly’s husband sent their hard-earned home deposit to a scammer, and never saw that money again.

James Purtill has taken a look at the increase in property settlement scams — he’ll join us in a few short minutes with the rest of the panel, so if you’ve got a question, send it in!