Conveyancers suspected of dishonesty face action by regulators warns HMLR
Conveyancers suspected of dishonesty could face action by regulators, HM Land Registry (HMLR) has warned. In a blog published on the HLMR website, assistant land registrar Serene Rollins said manipulating or re-using signatures, repeated failures to check deeds, and misrepresenting oneself as a legal professional were among the issues that could prompt referral to a […]
They don’t hack in… they log in: Why cyber risk may still be under-estimated in conveyancing
This month, Conveyancing Association director of delivery Beth Rudolf explains why cybercrime leaves every firm exposed and says it’s a risk every member of the team must take seriously. It is always tempting to think cyber-crime and attempts at fraud sits somewhere outside the day-to-day reality of conveyancing, handled by IT teams, insurers or […]
SRA is investigating £39.5m ‘sophisticated suspected fraud’ at PM Law
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has confirmed it is investigating a “sophisticated suspected fraud” at PM Law, following its intervention in February. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the regulator said it now believes the failure of the firm, headquartered in Sheffield (pictured) was due to the improper removal and misuse of around £39.5 million […]
SRA confirms ‘potential fraud and missing client money’ at PM Law
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has formally confirmed it is investigating “potential fraud, including the misappropriation of client money” at the Sheffield-based law firm PM Law after it unexpectedly closed on Monday 2nd February. In a statement published on the SRA website, Jonathan Peddie, executive director of legal and enforcement, confirmed the regulator is looking into […]
‘Concerning divergence’ in property crime detection
Estate and letting agents submitted just 890 suspicious activity reports (SARs) in 2024-25, down from 1,044 the previous year, while the legal sector increased its reporting from 2,419 to 3,392 over the same period. Figures published in the 2024-25 annual report from the UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) show a widening gap between the two […]
Fraud risk remains a constant in the property process
Beth Rudolf, director of delivery at The Conveyancing Association, examines the constant risks of fraud faced by conveyancers during the transaction process. I was shocked to hear on Radio 4 the other day that a US administration official reportedly said about 50% of North Korea’s foreign-currency income comes from cyber-attacks (especially crypto heists and […]
Vendor fraud: How conveyancers can detect and prevent one of the sector’s fastest growing scams
Vendor fraud has become one of the most disruptive and costly threats in the conveyancing sector. The SRA highlighted it as an emerging risk in its 2024 AML Sectoral Risk Assessment, noting a sharp rise in cases where law firms had unknowingly facilitated fraudulent sales. Much of this increase is linked to the wider availability […]
SRA ‘concerned by continued non-compliance’ with source of funds checks
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has reviewed ‘a substantial body of data’ for a thematic review of source of funds and wealth compliance, and says it is ‘concerned by the continued levels of non-compliance’. Data gathered through proactive supervision work over three years has consistently shown that compliance with source of funds requirements remains a […]
SRA ‘proud of AML progress’ ahead of FCA handover, as annual report reveals a third of assessed firms were non-compliant
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has released its Anti-Money Laundering Annual Report for 2024-25, a year in which the organisation says it made significant progress in preventing and detecting money laundering. With the government recently announcing the responsibility for overseeing anti-money laundering regulations will pass to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the SRA’s chief executive […]
PEXA launches fraud and conveyancing webinar series for Fraud Awareness Week
Conveyancing technology provider PEXA has launched a series of webinars to be run throughout Fraud Awareness Week, to help educate the sector on the evolving risks of fraud posed to property. The webinars come as banking trade association UK Finance warned fraud remains a major threat, with an increase in both the total number of […]
Invoice and mandate scams fall, but fraud remains ‘a major threat’
Losses caused by criminals posing as conveyancers and other tradespeople to intercept large payments totalled £19.9 million in the first half of 2025, a decrease of 24% on the same period the previous year, according to the latest half year fraud report from banking trade association UK Finance. And although the figures show a year-on-year […]
SSB case reflects ‘deeper vulnerabilities’ in legal services with regulatory overhaul needed
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) must ‘overhaul its complaints handling and risk assessment processes,’ introduce better safeguarding measures for clients, be more proactive about redress for consumers, and embed a consumer culture for better outcomes as the fallout from the report into the failure of SSB Group continues. A report published by the Legal Services […]
NCA and The Law Society target conveyancers with payment diversion fraud campaign
The National Crime Agency (NCA) and The Law Society have launched a joint campaign aimed at conveyancers and solicitors to highlight the risks of payment diversion fraud in property transactions. The fraud, involving criminals intercepting and redirecting property purchase funds by impersonating solicitors, estate agents or buyers, costs the public millions every year. Figures released […]
Analysis finds ‘hugely encouraging’ uptake of HMLR’s property fraud alerts, but most homes still not covered
An analysis of HM Land Registry data by client due diligence platform Thirdfort has found that almost 860,000 homeowners have registered for HMLR’s fraud prevention Property Alert service. But despite a steady increase in the number of people signing up for the alerts, Thirdfort estimates just 3% of eligible homes are covered. Thirdfort’s founders Olly […]
Law firms ‘among least prepared for new fraud regulations’
More than half of UK law firms are unprepared for the new ‘failure to prevent fraud’ offence coming into force under The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) today, according to a new report from compliance training provider Skillcast. The legal sector ranks among the least prepared industries, with major governance and transparency gaps […]
‘Dishonest’ licensed conveyancer banned for forging signatures and misleading HMLR
A licensed conveyancer has been banned from practising by the Solicitors Regulation Authority after forging client signatures on a mortgage deed, falsifying an email purportedly from the clients and lying about the circumstances surrounding the case. Tanya Khan, a licensed conveyancer at Mackrell Solicitors in Covent Garden at the time of the offences, also used […]
HMLR beat March 25 deadline for 95% submission turnaround within 12 months
HM Land Registry (HMLR) say they have beaten their self-imposed March 2025 deadline to process 95% of all applications within 12 months of submission; evidence of the progress they have made in the years since COVID-19 and the sizeable backlogs that ensued. The achievement was highlighted in the recently published 2024/25 Annual Report and Accounts […]
The evolving threat of identity fraud
In this episode of the Today’s Conveyancer podcast, host David Opie welcomes Gavin Burton, Co-founder and trainer at Beruku Knowledge, to discuss the evolving threats of identity fraud, deep fakes, and artificial intelligence in the legal sector. With a distinguished 26-year career in the Metropolitan Police, Gavin led a specialised team focused on ID fraud, […]
‘Misunderstood’ compliance teams facing greater pressures
The role of compliance professionals in law firms is often ‘misunderstood’ by colleagues, leading to misconceptions and a lack of appreciation for their efforts; which are often undertaken at personal cost to individual mental health and wellbeing. Just 15% of compliance professionals consider their role to be perceived as ‘critical and valued’ by colleagues which […]
Mortgage fraud ‘going largely undetected’, with just 17 FCA investigations since 2018
The true scale of mortgage fraud in the UK may be far greater than official enforcement figures suggest, according to data gathered by the client due diligence platform Thirdfort. A Freedom of Information request made by Thirdfort to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has revealed there have been only 17 enforcement investigations into mortgage fraud […]