Protect your home - Stockport Fraud victim's £500k home put on market

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In November 2016 an identity fraud victim in Stockport described the horror of discovering their £500,000 home up for sale on Rightmove without their involvement or knowledge.

After a police investigation, it was later discovered two men had stolen the homeowner's mail and forged his signature in order to falsify the documents needed to auction the house.  The two criminals have since been jailed for their part in the scam.

The scam worked by the fraudsters:

  • stealing three utility bills from the mailbox
  • falsify documents
  • checking the owner had paid off their mortgage
  • forging the owners signature, to transfer the deeds to the property into their own name.
  • listing the property for auction in the hope it would sell quickly,

The property advert of the website featured several pictures of the property and was inviting bids starting at £300,000.  The details even included a request that the tenants were "not to be disturbed" so there was no need for estate agents to show people around.

The fraudsters knew that because the property was mortgage free they were able to transfer the deeds without needing the extra authority of the lender.

On this occasion, luckily the owner discovered the advert just three days before the auction was due to commence.  This case demonstrates fraudsters can use your identity details to highjack your identity and try to steal your home.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) has successfully prevented 279 fraudulent applications being registered since 2009.  This number represents a saving in property value of more than £133.4 million.

Property fraud is extremely rare, but for the unlucky few, the effects can be devastating, time-consuming and extremely costly.  We urge the public to secure their mailboxes and employ measures to protect their identities.

You’re more at risk if:

  • your identity’s been stolen
  • you rent out your property
  • you live overseas
  • your property is empty
  • your property is mortgage-free
  • your property isn’t registered with HM Land Registry

Your property should be registered if you bought it or mortgaged it since 1998, contact your solicitor if you are unsure.

Be Proactive - Track changes to the register

You can sign up to get property alerts if someone applies to change the register of your property, for example, if someone tries to use your property for a mortgage. This won’t automatically block any changes to the register but will alert you when something changes so that you can act.

You can get alerts for up to 10 properties - there’s no fee.

We can help protect you by adding a restriction on your title

You can stop HM Land Registry registering a sale or mortgage on your property unless a conveyancer or solicitor certifies the application was made by you.  If any of the risk criteria above apply to you then contact us today to discuss how we can proactively protect your asset and home.