Beware of Fraudsters

With reports of fraud on the increase - particularly in relation to land transactions and title registrations - it is time for us to ask, "how well do we know our clients?"

We are often busy and criminals will use this to their advantage, including providing falsely registered title or fake identification documents.

To assist us, the Law Society and Land Registry have jointly published a practice note on some tell-tale indicators.

The recent case of Purrunsing v A'Court (a firm) and another [2016] EWHC 789 (Ch) highlights the obligations we have. In this case the solicitors on both sides of a property fraud were found jointly liable for the £470,000.00 loss suffered by the buyer.

We are constantly looking at what Anti Money Laundering (AML) policies we have in place and what we are actively doing to protect our client and the transaction from fraud.

It can often be frustrating when you instruct your solicitor and they forward to you forms to complete and request identification documentation. However, as you can see from the rise in fraud cases the necessity to do so to protect you and the firm from becoming victims of the fraudsters.