Property owners are increasingly being targeted by scams that look legitimate, sound urgent and arrive at exactly the moment you might expect to receive a genuine strata communication.

Levy notices are particularly attractive to scammers. They often contain payment information, are issued on predictable schedules and may be sent to hundreds of owners at once. That makes strata communications a natural target for phishing, spoofing and payment redirection scams.

At Vantage Strata, we have taken additional steps to make legitimate messages from us easier to identify. But technology can only go so far. Knowing what to look for before acting on a message remains one of the simplest and most effective ways to protect yourself.

Why strata owners are being targeted

Payment redirection scams are not especially sophisticated in principle. A criminal impersonates a trusted organisation, creates a message that looks familiar and attempts to convince the recipient to send money to a different account. The message might appear to be a levy notice, an overdue payment reminder or an update to previously supplied banking information.

What makes these scams effective is context. An owner who is expecting a levy notice may not think twice when one arrives. A message warning that payment is overdue can create enough urgency to make someone act before checking the details.

And increasingly, fraudulent emails and text messages can look remarkably convincing. Logos, formatting, names and language can all be copied. That is why we encourage owners to verify the source of the message, rather than relying on how professional it looks.

Our SMS messages now have a registered sender name

Vantage Strata is now a registered sender with the Australian SMS Sender ID Register. This means legitimate text messages from us can arrive displaying the sender name Vantage Strata, rather than appearing to come from an unfamiliar mobile number.

More importantly, registration helps protect that sender identity from being impersonated by another party through participating telecommunications networks. It adds another layer of protection around our communications and makes it easier for owners to recognise messages genuinely sent by Vantage Strata.

It does not, however, mean you should stop checking unusual requests. If a message asks you to make a payment, change account details or take an unexpected action, a quick verification is always worth the effort.

Four checks before you pay anything

1. Check the sender address, not just the display name

An email can display almost any sender name. Seeing Vantage Strata at the top of an email therefore isn't enough on its own. Our emails come from an @vantagestrata.com.au address.

Before clicking links, opening unexpected attachments or acting on payment instructions, hover over the sender name on desktop or tap it on a mobile device to reveal the full email address. If the address looks unfamiliar, contains unusual spelling or comes from a completely different domain, don't act on the message. Contact us instead.

2. Be suspicious of changed bank details

This is one of the biggest red flags. Vantage Strata will never email or text you to advise that our banking details have changed. If you receive a message claiming that a payment should now be made to a different bank account, treat it as suspicious.

Do not reply to the message to verify it. Do not call a phone number supplied inside the message. Instead, contact Vantage Strata using contact details you already know or those published on our official website. A convincing invoice with the wrong account number can still be a scam.

3. Slow down when a message creates urgency

Scammers want you to act before you think. That is why fraudulent messages often use language such as "final notice," "account suspended," "payment required within 24 hours" or "immediate action required." There may even be warnings about penalties or consequences if you don't respond quickly.

Urgency by itself does not mean a message is fraudulent, but manufactured urgency should always make you more cautious. Before making a payment, stop and check the sender, the payment details and whether the request makes sense. A two minute verification is far better than trying to recover funds after they have been transferred.

4. If anything feels unusual, verify it by phone

You do not need to work out whether a suspicious message is genuine on your own. If something doesn't look right, call Vantage Strata on 02 6171 9700.

Importantly, use the phone number from our official website or contact details you already have saved, not a phone number included in the suspicious message. Scammers can include fraudulent phone numbers as easily as fraudulent bank details. A quick phone call gives us the opportunity to confirm whether the communication came from us before you take any further action.

What should you do if you receive a suspicious message?

If you receive an email or text message claiming to be from Vantage Strata and something seems unusual, avoid interacting with it until you have verified it. That means:

• Don't make a payment based on changed bank details.
• Don't click unexpected links or attachments.
• Don't provide passwords, banking information or other sensitive details.
• Don't use the contact information contained in the suspicious message to verify it.
• Contact Vantage Strata directly using our known details.

If you have already made a payment and later suspect that the message may have been fraudulent, contact your bank immediately and then notify us. Speed matters when attempting to stop or recover a fraudulent transfer.

Trust the process, not the appearance

A scam message does not always look like a scam. The spelling may be perfect. The branding may look right. The timing may make sense. It may even refer to information that seems specific to your property. That is precisely why simple verification habits matter.

Check where the message came from. Question unexpected changes to payment details. Be wary of unnecessary urgency. And when in doubt, pick up the phone.