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KEYWORD "Fraud" - 100 RESULTS
High risk, poor verification - How SmartSearch can help estate agents mitigate the risk of working with international individuals

Estate agents working with international individuals can face a significant risk of encountering money laundering activities. The complex nature of cross-border...

24 August 2024

From: Features

Property fraud sign-ups rise but most homes aren’t registered - warning

Homeowners are becoming more concerned about property fraud, research suggests. A freedom of information request has shown a 26% increase in the number...

13 August 2024

From: Breaking News

Multi-million pound house ‘forfeited’ by wife of jailed banker

The wife of a jailed banker has agreed to forfeit a house in Knightsbridge worth approximately £14m and a golf club...

07 August 2024

From: Breaking News

Agents submit more suspicious activity reports

Estate agents submitted 30% more Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and Defence Against Money Laundering (DAML) SARs last year, research suggests. Analysis by...

11 July 2024

From: Breaking News

Let's call an end to homebuyers sharing information on email

Given the rise of conveyancing fraud, client compliance platform Thirdfort is urging conveyancers, lawyers and estate agents to offer more secure...

29 June 2024

From: Features

PropTech Today - Why we can't afford not to be alive to the growing risk of cyber fraud

THE property sector has embraced technology and the enormous benefits that it can bring. Never was this more accurately demonstrated than during...

15 May 2024

From: Breaking News

Are property firms strengthening financial crime measures with comprehensive business checks?

Regulated firms across all sectors will be well aware of Know Your Customer (KYC) checks and their importance in combatting financial...

13 April 2024

From: Features

Key actions conveyancers must take to protect against fraud risk

Fraud poses a significant challenge for residential conveyancers, with criminals often attempting to exploit the transaction process for money laundering purposes. The...

13 April 2024

From: Features

Price hikes and fake images - Six red flags to avoid a rental scam

2023 was the highest year on record for ‘rental scam’ searches in the UK, with an increase of 11% from 2022...

06 April 2024

From: Features

How estate agents can help win the war on financial crime

Financial crime within the property sector is on the rise and the stats are alarming. According to data from Apex Bridging,...

23 March 2024

From: Features

PropTech Today - Spring clean to avoid 'malicious hacks'

SPRING cleaning is an annual ritual for many households, but firms in the property sector would do well to spend some...

20 March 2024

From: Breaking News

Dates for your diary: Propertymark client money and material information webinars

Propertymark is hosting two important webinars this week to keep agents informed of important industry regulations. The agency trade body is hosting...

15 January 2024

From: Breaking News

Overseas property ownership register hits 30,000 milestone

The Register of Overseas Entities has hit the 30,000 registration milestone. The register, which is administered by Companies House, came into force...

03 January 2024

From: Breaking News

Revealed! The regions where homeowners are at most risk of property fraud

Homeowners in the East Midlands, North East, North West and Scotland may be at higher risk of property fraud, research suggests. Anti-money...

22 December 2023

From: Breaking News

PropTech Today - Cyber security - who holds the keys?

The recent cyber attack on CTS left around 80 conveyancing firms across the country commercially paralysed as the harm to their...

19 December 2023

From: Breaking News

Rising fraud in the lettings industry: why we need faster and more accurate referencing solutions

Fraud in the lettings industry is reaching unprecedented heights. Now, more than ever, there is a need for a revolution in...

09 December 2023

From: Features

New app launches to tackle property fraud

A new product has launched that protects homeowners from the growing threat of property-related frauds. Title Guardian is an app that monitors...

08 December 2023

From: Breaking News

Alto customers are integrating with Canopy to save time and level-up their service.

In this interview, Riccardo Dawson, Chief Operating Officer at Alto and Chris Hutchinson, CEO of Canopy discuss the benefits of their...

08 November 2023

From: Sponsored Content

Fraud pilot investigation launched into Help to Buy loans

It's emerged that Homes England and HMRC have explored possible fraud within the Help to Buy Equity Loan Scheme. This formed part of...

20 October 2023

From: Breaking News

The Property Ombudsman bolsters board

The Property Ombudsman (TPO) has welcomed two new non-executive directors to its independent board. Louise Baxter, head of the National Trading Standards...

13 September 2023

From: Breaking News

What should agents be doing to stay compliant with AML regulations?

As money laundering compliance marks its twentieth year, more and more estate agents are being fined for breaches of HMRC’s ID...

09 September 2023

From: Features

New warnings issued over student property fraud

The National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) and Gumtree have teamed up to help fightback against fraudsters, particularly when it comes...

31 August 2023

From: Breaking News

Estate agents need to know: How can digital ID tools help you with AML?

Tackling economic crime is part of the day job for estate agents. But how can the latest digital ID tools help...

12 July 2023

From: Features

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...

04 July 2023

From: Breaking News

Prison for conman who stole thousands from property buyers

A man has been jailed for fraud after conning potential property buyers out of nearly £16,000. Jaspal Singh Juttla, 64 of Northwood...

01 June 2023

From: Breaking News

Tackling fraud in the current climate - what’s the reality for agents?

Property fraud is a significant risk for agents, particularly as fake IDs become increasingly prevalent, and the economic climate remains challenging....

06 May 2023

From: Features

New banking settlement scheme set to ‘fully digitise property transactions’ 

The Bank of England last week announced the completion of Project Meridian, a digital synchronised settlement prototype that aims to digitise...

24 April 2023

From: Breaking News

‘Friday conveyancing fraud’ getting worse due to remote working – warning

Home-movers are being warned to be on alert for ‘Friday afternoon fraud,’ which experts claim is becoming more common since the...

30 March 2023

From: Breaking News

First property logbooks register goes live

The Residential Logbook Association (RLBA) has launched the first iteration of its register, which aims to speed-up transactions and stop property...

27 March 2023

From: Breaking News

What is keeping estate agents awake at night in 2023?

Two of the biggest challenges facing the property industry right now are fraud and money laundering. The scale of these activities is...

15 February 2023

From: Features

Buyers warned about ‘wild west’ of social media sales

Buyers should be mindful about the rise of so called ‘Insta-agents,’ a property body has warned. The National Association of Property Buyers...

17 January 2023

From: Breaking News

Criminals ‘bombarding’ homeowners with fraudulent energy offers 

Scammers are “bombarding” homeowners with fraudulent offers on green energy or insulation to allegedly boost their property value and cash in...

03 January 2023

From: Breaking News

Why estate agents need to be aware of social housing fraudsters

In this guest feature, Dillon Darbar, counter fraud manager at Network Homes, sets out why estate agents need to be aware...

26 November 2022

From: Features

Avoiding the threat of fines: what’s often missed in the AML process

HMRC has fined estate agents over £500,000 for anti-money laundering (AML) breaches in the past two months. Yet despite property managers...

26 November 2022

From: Features

AML platform secures Mint partnership for agents 

Agency-backed risk management platform Thirdfort has partnered with insurance brokers Mint to provide policyholders with access to anti-money laundering (AML) and...

18 October 2022

From: Breaking News

6% mortgage rates are equivalent to 25% in 1980, lender claims

Leeds Building Society has pledged to honour any mortgage offers and support borrowers during this period of market uncertainty. It comes as...

17 October 2022

From: Breaking News

Now automation can help protect the property market

Over the last five years, the Government has introduced a range of measures to regulate the property market, particularly in the...

12 October 2022

From: Features

 Agents ‘wrongly’ rely on hard copy AML checks

Agents are ‘wrongly’ relying on hard copies of identity documents to verify people’s identities in anti-money laundering (AML) checks, new research...

31 August 2022

From: Breaking News

Only 4% of homes have signed up to property fraud alert service

Increasing numbers of homeowners have signed up to a free Land Registry alert scheme to protect against fraudulent property transactions. Figures obtained...

16 August 2022

From: Breaking News

Tech and innovation can help tackle the challenges conveyancing faces

The current challenges facing the conveyancing sector have put the industry in the spotlight. Here, property expert Colum Smith, Chief Vision...

16 July 2022

From: Features

AML investigator to host agent webinar on customer due diligence

Agents are being given the chance to learn how to improve their anti-money laundering (AML) processes from a veteran police investigator. Rightmove...

13 July 2022

From: Breaking News

PropertyHeads relaunches MousePricePro to boost agent opportunities

PropertyHeads has relaunched its valuation and insights tool as Mouseprice Pro in the UK after a period of major investment and...

23 June 2022

From: Breaking News

AML expert issues fraud warning amid speedy sales market

The fast-moving property sales market is increasing the risk of fraud, an anti-money laundering expert claims. Olly Thornton-Berry, co-founder of risk management...

08 June 2022

From: Breaking News

Why fraud becomes a major problem in rentals during a UK recession

We are all acutely aware of the surge in demand for rental properties in and around the capital in the months...

01 June 2022

From: Features

Property Natter: ‘the only way to bring about change is to be proactive’

In this latest ‘Women in Property’ edition of the Natter, I check in with Collette Allen, who was recently appointed as...

28 May 2022

From: Features

Speedy sales adding fraud risks for estate agents – warning

Speedy property sales may not be as good as they seem, an industry figure has warned. Recent figures released by Rightmove indicate...

11 May 2022

From: Breaking News

Why speedy transactions could be leaving the door wide open to fraudsters

In this guest piece, Colum Smith, a property expert at law firm Taylor Rose MW, sets out why speedier transactions could...

07 May 2022

From: Features

Letting agents – why reconcile your client account?

Accountancy terminology can be a turn off to many business owners, understandably so given that the majority aren’t working in lettings...

27 April 2022

From: Features

Law firm backs home moving proptech to help tackle fraud

Law firm Taylor Rose MW has acquired a stake in proptech firm SlothMove in an effort to help combat property fraud. SlothMove...

14 April 2022

From: Breaking News

The real life horror behind the drama - why we must be on our guard against fraud

In a new column, solicitor Colum Smith, an expert in combating fraud at Taylor Rose MW Solicitors, explains why those looking...

26 March 2022

From: Features

Income Tax cut and VAT scrapped on home energy efficiency measures

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a dramatic future income tax cut, changes to National Insurance thresholds and scrapping VAT on more...

23 March 2022

From: Breaking News

Are Reviews Faked? Trustpilot bats away claims of ignoring breaches

The international reviews service Trustpilot has batted away criticism from a property website that it ignores breaches of its guidelines. Last week,...

15 March 2022

From: Breaking News

Confiscate oligarchs’ homes and sell them to raise cash for Ukraine - call

The Mayor of London is demanding ministers take sanctioning Russian oligarchs seriously by moving immediately to seize assets that can then...

08 March 2022

From: Breaking News

Review row over company making allegations about OnTheMarket

A row has broken out over a company which has made allegations about Trustpilot reviews of OnTheMarket. A company called KwikChex says...

07 March 2022

From: Breaking News

Alto Q&A: New features and integrations agents need to know about

We know that agents rely heavily on property software solutions to run their agency, particularly to ease the burden of administrative...

01 March 2022

From: Sponsored Content

Q&A with the RLBA - what are property logbooks and why are they important?

In the last two years digital Property Logbooks for our homes have moved from concept to reality with almost a quarter...

26 February 2022

From: Features

Opinion: The property sector should take action now, not wait for the Economic Crime Bill

The outcome of the Ukraine crisis is far from certain, but one thing has become abundantly clear. The long-overdue Economic Crime...

26 February 2022

From: Features

Fraud: Agents offered free compliance check-up by PropTech supplier

Agents are being offered a free review of their compliance status between now and the end of March by a PropTech...

22 February 2022

From: Breaking News

Agents - how to spot and stop fraud

Alexander Siedes, CEO of Homeppl, reveals the top five ways people try and commit tenancy fraud and how to spot and stop...

19 February 2022

From: Features

Insight - an estate agents’ guide to AML

The UK property industry has long been a target of fraudsters due to the low levels of transparency and the fact...

12 February 2022

From: Features

Purplebricks reviews dispute takes new twist four years on

A long running dispute between reviews website allAgents and Purplebricks has come back to life - with a new twist. In 2017...

08 February 2022

From: Breaking News

Property Fraud - Agents have key role to deter crime

An hour-long webinar this week aims to inform agents how to deter property fraud by greater emphasis on compliance, due diligence...

25 January 2022

From: Breaking News

Property Natter – my predictions for the property market in 2022

As this is the first Natter back since the Christmas break, I should like to first wish all our readers a...

15 January 2022

From: Features

Agent Alert - “more and more” cyber attacks on companies

A warning has gone out to estate agents that “more and more” reports are being filed about cyber attacks on agencies...

12 January 2022

From: Breaking News

Goodbye referral fees? Conveyancing expert’s anger over IT crisis

A conveyancer has contacted Estate Agent Today suggesting that the Simplify Group IT data crisis could be the death knell for the company...

04 January 2022

From: Breaking News

Stop Property Fraudsters - new guide released

A new guide to help avoid property title fraud, where home ownership can be stolen, has been released by the Fraud...

15 December 2021

From: Breaking News

Identity theft and fraud - how it happens and how to prevent it

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on all aspects of our lives, but undoubtedly one major negative side effect...

11 December 2021

From: Features

Revealed – how fraudsters scam agents

With tenancy fraud on the rise, landlords are increasingly wary. So, they want to work with agencies who do everything they...

08 December 2021

From: Features

Property Fraud - how agents can combat a growing threat

Property fraud is on the rise and early in 2022 agents will have an opportunity to attend a webinar featuring a...

08 December 2021

From: Breaking News

Are you fit to fight financial crime in property transactions?  

I’ve worked in financial crime for the past seven years, beginning my career as a white collar crime litigator in a law firm. I know that the...

04 December 2021

From: Features

Estate agents urged to assess compliance procedures after sloppy AML checks lead to man’s house being stolen

Estate agents are being urged to ensure their compliance procedures are up to scratch after fraudsters stole a man’s identity and...

02 December 2021

From: Sponsored Content

 Improving the home buying and selling process - what's the latest?

Despite the progress made in so many areas, particularly in terms of leasehold reform – although we are calling upon the...

27 November 2021

From: Features

Cyber-Attack: Agents must learn from Simplify IT catastrophe

Agents must have a robust plan in place in case they are subjected to a ransomware cyber attack, says the Guild...

23 November 2021

From: Breaking News

Agents - time to make the switch to EV

The phrase ‘time is money’ is particularly pertinent for estate agents. Since the stamp duty holiday ended, the forecast drop in...

17 November 2021

From: Features

Agency owner jailed for “utterly despicable crime”

The owner of an estate agency in Sussex has been jailed for five years for what a judge has called “an...

11 November 2021

From: Breaking News

“Devastating lack of due diligence” slammed in property fraud case

A prominent law expert is claiming that a high profile case of property fraud, reported earlier this week, involved a “devastating...

05 November 2021

From: Breaking News

Property Fraud: A house is sold without owner’s knowledge

A BBC investigation has revealed that a man’s house was sold and his furnishings removed without his knowledge, in the latest...

02 November 2021

From: Breaking News

RICS’ latest top appointment has had 42 years as a Civil Servant

RICS has appointed a former civil servant with a 42-year career as its new audit committee chair. Mike Driver, currently president of...

02 November 2021

From: Breaking News

Why the UK property market is at the centre of global tax avoidance and financial crime

The Pandora Papers - the biggest ever leak of offshore data - has revealed that the UK’s property market is being...

30 October 2021

From: Features

Revealed – what is the state of the rental market today?

In the UK, 3.5 million households — which is over one-third of UK households — are either privately or socially rented,...

27 October 2021

From: Features

PropTech pilot scheme next month to make sales safer and faster

There’s been another step to make house sales more secure and speedier, with a pilot scheme starting next month. Five major identity...

27 October 2021

From: Breaking News

Fake conveyancers diverting purchase funds into fraudsters’ wallets

Buyers are being warned about scams conning people out of hundreds of thousands of pounds. The Law Society of England and Wales...

25 October 2021

From: Breaking News

Agent Alert: Rise in property fraud makes data checks vital

An alert has gone out to sales and lettings agents to be more diligent with their checking of data, and to...

22 October 2021

From: Breaking News

Is your business ready to offer the best digital experience to your customers?

In this thought leadership article, Videosign CEO Steven Tallant looks at electronic signatures and conveyancing and whether the time is nigh for the...

16 October 2021

From: Features

RICS new Rules of Conduct try to win back respect for battered body

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is trying to win back respect within the property industry with new Rules of Conduct...

11 October 2021

From: Breaking News

We Salute You! - industry tribute after the stamp duty holiday frenzy

The stamp duty holiday concluded at midnight, marking the end of the busiest period for the industry - all parts of...

01 October 2021

From: Breaking News

RICS Scandal - apology given to whistleblowers amid major overhaul

The governing council of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has issued a public apology to the whistle blowers whose actions...

30 September 2021

From: Breaking News

PropTech firm backed by Zoopla founder launches AML platform

A PropTech firm backed by Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman has launched a new anti-money laundering (AML) tool for estate agents. Thirdfort has...

24 September 2021

From: Breaking News

Businesses, including agencies, hand back £1.3 billion in furlough money

New figures from HM Treasury have revealed that businesses, including a number of major agencies, have returned £1.3 billion in furlough...

22 September 2021

From: Breaking News

RICS Scandal - Senior figures quit but “no fraud or crime” says QC

The independent QC leading a review into the governance scandal at the RICS says there was “no fraudulent or criminal misbehaviour”...

10 September 2021

From: Breaking News

Better AML solutions needed amid warnings of possible impacts of Afghanistan exit on financial crime

Regulators are warning the UK’s property, finance and legal sectors to be aware of the possible impacts of the exit from...

09 September 2021

From: Sponsored Content

RICS scandal - more details expected to be revealed today

A news conference today is expected to reveal more details of the governance scandal which has engulfed the Royal Institution of...

09 September 2021

From: Breaking News

RICS scandal - chief executive in talks to stand down

The chief executive of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Sean Tompkins, is in talks to step down according to an...

08 September 2021

From: Breaking News

Estate agency scandal shows Trading Standards work is vital - claim

The work of the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team is “vital” it claims - and the case of the...

27 August 2021

From: Breaking News

Banned estate agent given custodial sentence

A banned West Midlands estate agent has today been sentenced to a custodial sentence of six weeks, suspended for two years, and fined £4,000 at Wolverhampton Crown Court after pleading guilty...

26 August 2021

From: Breaking News

HMRC targets property transactions after slump in tax income

HM Revenue & Customs is reported to be targeting recent home buyers after a slump in income from property taxes during...

13 August 2021

From: Breaking News

RICS Fraud Risk Controversy - QC delivers 400 page report

The independent QC asked to prepare a report into the financial conduct row at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has...

12 August 2021

From: Breaking News

Agent faces prison after defrauding pensioner out of £160,000

An estate agent with stomach cancer faces a prison sentence after pleading guilty of defrauding an 80 year old pensioner out...

12 August 2021

From: Breaking News

RICS governance scandal - another delay before report appears

The publication of a report following a controversial RICS investigation has been pushed back another month. Last month it was announced that...

22 July 2021

From: Breaking News

Bankrupt took hundreds of thousands ‘to build retirement home’

A bankrupt builder from Devon persuaded pensioners to pay him £271,000 to construct a home - but his poor workmanship has...

06 July 2021

From: Breaking News

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