Verified at the door, not at the last minute
Summary
The article highlights the scale of conveyancing fraud, citing 143 reported cases and £11.7 million in losses between April 2024 and March 2025. It argues that while firms increasingly verify identity and source of funds at onboarding, payment verification at the point of transfer remains weaker and is still vulnerable to email-based diversion fraud.
Why it matters
Residential property surveyors may encounter transactions where fraud risk, payment delays, or client due diligence issues affect completion timelines and stakeholder confidence. The piece also reflects a broader compliance trend toward stronger end-to-end verification in property transactions, which can influence conveyancing processes around survey instructions and reporting.
Key points
- Action Fraud recorded 143 conveyancing fraud cases in the period, with £11.7 million total losses.
- Most frauds involved diversion of funds to fraudulent bank accounts via apparently routine email requests.
- The article says onboarding checks are improving, but payment-stage verification remains inconsistent.
- Confirmation of Payee is presented as a partial safeguard, but coverage and name-matching limitations remain.
- The Law Society, SRA and NCA guidance is cited as supporting independent verification of payee details.
This is an RPSA summary of a publicly available article. The full content remains with the original publisher.
