The service provides homeowners with email alerts when there is activity on the property, such as a mortgage being taken out against it. They can then flag up whether the activity is suspicious.
The Land Registry’s fraud prevention service Property Alert has 50,000 registered users since it was established in early 2014.
The service provides homeowners with email alerts when there is activity on the property, such as a mortgage being taken out against it. They can then flag up whether the activity is suspicious.
Fraudsters commonly try to mortgage properties without the owner’s knowledge by forging documents before disappearing with the money.
Alasdair Lewis, director of legal services at the Land Registry, said: “Property is usually our most valuable asset so it’s important to protect it from the ever-increasing risk of fraud.
“Land Registry is doing all it can to detect and prevent fraud but no system can be 100% fraud-proof, which is why we urge people to follow our advice about protecting themselves from property fraud, including signing up for Property Alert.”
The Land Registry said properties most at risk are tenanted properties where a landlord lives elsewhere, empty properties, a property with family disputes such as a relationship breakdown and properties without a mortgage.
Homeowners registered with the Land Registry can receive compensation if they fall victim to property fraud.
The Land Registry has stopped fraud on properties worth more than £66m in the last five years.
