Title Fraud: How to protect yourself
Property theft through title fraud might seem like an obscure issue far removed from the experience of the average landlord, that can be simply covered by using a free email alert service to protect title deeds from being fraudulently manipulated. however, as was recently revealed on Channel 5’s consumer affairs investigation ‘Scams: Don’t Get Caught Out’, landlords still remain vulnerable to this severe crime.
While title fraud is relatively rare, it forms part of a worrying trend in property fraud – up 84% in 2022 alone, according to the Channel 5 investigation. Spikes in fraud often coincide with challenging economic conditions, so it is vital landlords are vigilant.
On the programme, leading conveyancer and Title Guardian advisor Stuart Forsdike explained the conditions that can lead to title fraud, and the simple steps a criminal takes to clone a landlord’s identity – the first step in a title fraud.
There would be nothing to stop a tenant going to a lawyer, changing their name officially by deed poll’, he explained to presenter Alexis Conran.‘They would then have a new passport, new driving licence, they’d have bank statements and utility bills sent to that [rented] property’s address… all in the same name as the landlord. This gives a fraudster all they need to put in motion a property theft. They could walk into a law firm, they’d be able to pass ID checks, they could go to a selling agent, put the property on the market and effectively sell it.
These might seem like drastic, even unlikely actions, but as Forsdike exaplined, fraudsters target property because it’s high value. They only need one hit to accrue an asset that’s large in value.
HM Land Registry’s free email alert service does provide partial protection, but with limitations. It notifies a property owner of title deed changes - a helpful warning that fraudulent activity has occurred. However, these alerts come late in the process, after a landlord’s identity has been cloned and often after the property has been sold, meaning the fallout from property theft remains.
Fosdike says title fraud is made easier for criminals as there’s no link to photographic facial recognition on title documents and no record of a property owner’s date of birth or any other information.
HM Land Registry’s free email alert service does provide partial protection, but with limitations. It notifies a property owner of title deed changes - a helpful warning that fraudulent activity has occurred. However, these alerts come late in the process, after a landlord’s identity has been cloned and often after the property has been sold, meaning the fallout from property theft remains.
But do not despair, there are practical steps landlord can take to mitigate risks. Being vigilant in protecting your identity, keeping contact details with government agencies up to date and carefully vetting potential tenants are obvious starting points.
A more robust answer is to use a proactive monitoring solution that helps landlords stay ahead of threats to their identity and property, so action can be taken at the point where an issue arises.
How does it work?
The Title Guardian service offers landlords peace of mind, priding itself on being:
Proactive: The software looks for signs of suspicious activity at a host of sources where frauds can begin , including sales and lettings portals and government databases. This means fraudulent activity can be prevented before any damage is done.
Comprehensive: by scanning for signs of suspicious activity, proactive monitoring can not only uncover signs of identity theft and title fraud, but also detect other unauthorised tenant activities at a landlord’s rental addresses.
Working at scale: It can be more of a challenge to manually manage across larger portfolios, and HM Land Registry’s alert services is limited to 10 properties. Monitoring solutions can scale to cover as many properties as needed.
Immediate: Rather than rely on email alone, monitoring solutions keep customers updated through a variety of communication channels, for instant notifications and always-on, 24/7 protection.
Future-proof: PropTech monitoring solutions will evolve as new threats emerge, so landlords can stay ahead and focus on their business, safe in the knowledge that their portfolios are safeguarded.
Title fraud cases may be relatively rare, but when it happens, the consequences are significant. Landlords are at higher risk, so being vigilant and safeguarding your portfolio are sensible steps.
You can learn more about how Title Guardian is partnering with the NRLA to offer a new, first-of-its-kind smart technology solution to help members combat threats such as by clicking below.
