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How to avoid falling victim to property fraud

9th October 2017

How to avoid falling victim to property fraud

Property fraud occurs when someone tries to ‘steal’ your property and use it for their benefit. Usually it is committed by a fraudster assuming your identity to sell or mortgage your property without you knowing.

It is a growing problem and one that all property owners are at risk of. Between September 2009 and September 2016, the Land Registry were forced to intervene in over 200 transactions to prevent fraud on properties valued at more than £92 million.

Here are the risk factors and what you can do to avoid falling victim to property fraud.

Who is at risk?

Anyone who owns a property is at risk of property fraud, but those in the most vulnerable position are people who:

If you fall into any of these categories, it is important that you act now to protect yourself.

What can I do?

There are several steps you can take to protect yourself and reduce the risk of fraud occurring, including:

If you think you may have been the victim of property fraud you should contact the Land Registry’s property fraud line straightaway; contact details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/protect-land-property-from-fraud. You should also contact your solicitor to see if there is anything you can do to stop the fraud, recover any money that has been lost or claim compensation.

For more information on property fraud and how to prevent it, please contact us on 01782 525000 or email info@myerssolicitors.co.uk.

The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.