Taylor Scott International News
The UK’s Land Registry’s fraud line has helped thousands to protect their home ownership against property fraudsters in its first three years. Nearly 3,000 calls and emails have been received as people become more aware of the risk of someone stealing their identity in order to sell or take out a mortgage on their home before disappearing with the money. ‘Since we launched our property fraud line property owners have become more aware of the risk. We urge home owners to follow our advice to reduce their risk of falling victim to property fraud,’ said Alasdair Lewis, director of Legal Services at the Land Registry. ‘Whilst no system can eradicate fraud completely, since September 2009 we have stopped 199 fraudulent applications on properties worth around £82 million,’ added Lewis. The properties most vulnerable to property fraud are usually empty, tenanted or mortgage-free. Individuals at a higher risk of fraud include owners who do not live in the property because they live abroad, buy to let landlords, people in long term hospital or residential care or where a relationship has broken down. Lewis gave an example of a recent case. Penny Hastings called Land Registry’s property fraud line after becoming suspicious that someone had fraudulently sold a property which she owned and rented out. It turned out the tenant was part of a fraud ring. Once he’d rented Penny’s house using a false identity, he and an accomplice put the house on the market. The accomplice was a lady who had changed her name to Penelope Hastings by deed poll and then secured a passport in that name. ‘The Land Registry did not register the sale as we suspected a fraud. This meant that Penny Hastings still maintains the legal ownership of the property. Unfortunately, an unwitting buyer paid £1.35 million for the property. The police are currently investigating the fraud,’ said Lewis. The property fraud line was launched in February 2013 for owners to quickly alert Land Registry if they are concerned their property might be subject to a fraudulent sale or mortgage. It forms part of Land Registry’s ongoing fraud prevention and detection techniques to safeguard people’s registered properties. Callers can speak to specially trained staff for practical guidance about what to do next. The telephone number is 0300 006 7030 and the line is open from 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Home owners can protect their property by signing up for the Land Registry’s free Property Alert service to receive an email alert when there is certain activity on the monitored property such as an application to register a new mortgage. People can then judge whether the activity is suspicious and seek further advice if necessary. Lewis pointed out that those who become an innocent victim of fraud and suffer a financial loss as a consequence may be compensated. If your property isn’t registered then no compensation is payable. There can be up to three addresses on the register including an… Taylor Scott International
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