Protect Yourself Against Property Fraud

It can happen to anyone if the right precautions aren’t in place, although some groups are more at risk than others. Those deemed most vulnerable to property fraud include individuals who don’t have a mortgage against their property, who own a residential or commercial property which stands empty, who’ve taken on a property as a result of the owner’s death, as well as buy-to-let landlords.

Property Fraud usually sees a scammer forging official documents and using them to transfer someone else’s property into their own name, or using it to take out a mortgage in their name. Although there are a number of ways in which the Land Registry can identify any potential fraudulent behaviour, many property owners don’t know such services exist and don’t use them to protect themselves and their assets. 

The Property Alert service was launched in 2013 by the Land Registry, and in just three years, it has identified and stopped over 160 fraudulent applications on properties worth over £70million. It achieves this by letting those signed up to the service know if official searches and applications have been undertaken against a property that they wish to monitor.

At PCB, we’re committed to ensuring that each and every one of our clients is kept abreast of vital services such as these, and that they utilise them for peace of mind and added protection. Whether you’re a residential or commercial property owner, we’d urge you to sign up to this completely free service by visiting the Land Registry website https://www.gov.uk/protect-land-property-from-fraud, or if you’d like to speak to a member of the PCB Property team, please contact 01743 248148.