You might be aware of financial fraud, but do you understand property fraud? In this short blog, we’ll take a look at what property fraud is, and what you need to know about it, particularly if you are buying or selling a house of your own.
What is property fraud?
This occurs when someone tries to illegally take ownership of a property that doesn’t belong to them via identity theft. In this way, it is impersonation fraud, which has doubled since 2020. It usually occurs when someone impersonates the property owners or when someone uses forged documents to make an illegal transfer of the property into their own name.
Why does property fraud happen?
Property fraud occurs because homes and commercial buildings are typically high-value assets. These properties can also be sold or mortgaged to raise money which is then stolen. It can be committed by organised crime, associates, family, landlords or tenants. Once property fraud has occurred, it can be very difficult to gain legal redress.
What are the different types of property fraud?
These frauds can be very hard to spot because they are so elaborate. They may involve identity theft, email hacking, seller scams, conveyancer impersonations or title frauds. The fraudsters will use false documents and access to sensitive data to achieve their goals. All these individuals require is a copy of your signature, your name and your address. They may gain these simply by hacking into your mail.
What puts you at risk of property fraud?
How to protect yourself from property fraud
The first stage is to make sure that your property is registered with HM Land Registry which costs over £3. Use a specialist conveyancing solicitor such as https://www.parachutelaw.co.uk/form-ll-land-registry-restriction to handle your Form LL restriction.
Keep informed
Understanding property fraud is the first step to protecting yourself, so it pays to keep up to date with what’s going on in the field. You can also register your property with HM Land Registry to receive alerts for any searches or activities relating to up to 10 addresses that you monitor. A solicitor can help you to take further steps that are relevant to your property and position.