Registrations for free ‘property alert’ service rise

Increasing numbers of homeowners are signing up to a property alert scheme to protect against fraudulent property transactions.

New figures obtained from a Freedom of Information request by anti-money laundering (AML) platform Thirdfort, show a 30% increase in registrations for the Land Registry’s Property Alert Service in 2022.

Some 178,086 homeowners registered for the free service last year, compared with 135,624 in 2020, while 34,821 have signed up so far this year.

According to the FOI data, 618,185 people in total have now signed up for the free service since its launch in 2014. With approximately 24.8 million homes in the UK, this could represent as little as 2.5% of property owners, despite significant risks of title fraud. 

Olly Thornton-Berry, co-founder of Thirdfort, said: “Property fraud is a major risk, particularly as fraudsters become increasingly sophisticated, and the economic climate remains challenging. 

“There’s been an explosion in fake ID documents, and we’ve seen some high profile examples 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.

“It’s crucial we use all of the tools available to prevent fraudulent sales and HM Land Registry’s Property Alert Service offers homeowners access to a simple and highly effective method of minimising the risk of title fraud. We’d urge more homeowners to take advantage of this very effective tool, particularly as fraud risk continues to increase.”