Huge increase in Property Alert registrations as homeowners look to protect themselves against rising title fraud
New figures obtained from a Freedom of Information request by Thirdfort, the risk management platform combining KYC, AML and SoF verification, show a 300% increase in the number of homeowners signing to a property alert scheme to protect against fraudulent property transactions.
Key points:
- Threefold rise in those signing up for HM Land Registry scheme in 2021, compared with 2020
- Yet just 515,709 property owners in total have now signed up for the free service, or under 4% of UK homes*
- Thirdfort, which combines Know Your Client (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Source-of-Funds (SoF) verification urges property owners to sign up
Some 135,624 property owners registered for the free HM Land Registry’s Property Alert Service in 2021, compared with 46,043 in 2020. More than 110,000 have already signed up this year (as of 30 June 2022). The rise in registrations suggests that homeowners are increasingly concerned about the risk of fraud, following alarming figures in recent years.
According to the FOI data, 515,709 property owners in total have now signed up for the free service since its launch in 2014. With approximately 28 million homes in the UK, this represents between just 2% and 4% of property owners, despite significant risks of title fraud.
Thirdfort co-founders Jack Bidgood and Olly Thornton-Berry
Olly Thornton-Berry, co-founder and Managing Director of Thirdfort, comments:
“Fraud is a huge problem in the UK property market. We’ve seen some alarming instances of fraudsters acquiring ownership of properties using forged documents to impersonate registered owners. Empty properties, tenanted properties and those without a mortgage are particularly at risk.
“The property industry is hot on the heels of these fraudsters and cutting-edge technology has a key role to play in protecting both homeowners and property professionals.
“Thirdfort is working with over 850 conveyancing firms, estate agents and law firms to address these risks using Open Banking, cryptographic and biometric verification, and real-time PEPs and sanctions monitoring.”
HM Land Registry’s Property Alert service offers a quick and simple way for homeowners to protect themselves against property title fraud. Property owners can sign up in minutes and can register up to 10 properties. Email alerts are sent when HM Land Registry receives an application to change the register as well as for official searches. This enables property owners to judge whether the activity is suspicious and if they should seek further advice.
Olly Thornton-Berry concluded:
“HM Land Registry’s Property Alert Service offers homeowners access to a simple and highly effective method of minimising the risk of title fraud.
“While on one hand it’s hugely positive that there’s been such an increase in people using the scheme, on the other these numbers still account for a very small percentage of UK homes.
“We’d urge more homeowners to take advantage of this very effective tool, particularly as fraud risk continues to increase.”
*Property owners can register up to 10 properties/ONS estimates that there were 27.8m homes in the UK in 2020
Kindly shared by Thirdfort
Main photo courtesy of Pixabay
