The implementation of a Register of Overseas Entities (ROE) will help law firms tackle the opaque nature of foreign ownership and support efforts to tackle money laundering in the UK property market, says Mike Ward, Executive Chairman of Armalytix on the latest Today’s Conveyancer Podcast Effective today, 1st August, overseas entities are required to provide […]Read More
Recent cases, criminal strategies and preventative measures you must consider. An ongoing issue within conveyancing, we bring you the latest advice and highlight the risks that could be a threat to your firm. If you know of a conveyancing fraud case or guidance we should be covering, please email [email protected].
In this Today’s Conveyancer Podcast David Opie is joined by Cashroom’s Chris and Steven O’Day, CEO and Head of Technology respectively and Tom Lyes, Head of Legal at Armalytix. The discussion centres on the opportunity presented by open banking in reducing the risk of fraud across the conveyancing transaction, from initial onboarding through to completion […]Read More
The recent thought-provoking ITV drama “Our Home” highlighted the possible nightmare scenario of going away for a few days and coming back to find strangers moving into your house. A cleverly orchestrated fraud (if a little too simplistic) sees a London home sold fraudulently, demonstrating real challenges that exist in our system if quite simple […]Read More
LMS launches confirmly to safeguard conveyancing process
LMS, the UK’s leading panel management specialist, has announced the launch of confirmly: a fast, trusted and secure law firm identity checking technology, designed to reduce risk and prevent scams when transferring conveyancing funds and client monies. Confirmly provides real time monitoring for law firms by harnessing LMS Panel Link and specialist data to verify bank […]Read More
What is open banking and what does it mean for
January marked Open Banking’s fourth birthday, but it is still a foreign concept for many, including the legal sector. Questions as to what Open Banking even is, and how it can be applied, remain unanswered. To help shed some light on this, Open Banking experts, Cashroom and Armalytix, tackled some key questions around the applications […]Read More
With criminals becoming ever more sophisticated, it’s critical that property professionals keep up to date to recognise the warning signs of fraud, understand new regulatory obligations and implement working practices that reduce their vulnerability to attack. To raise awareness within the industry, AML and digital ID specialist Thirdfort, is leading a panel discussion with experts […]Read More
A consultation from the Payment Systems Regulator could see legislation introduced forcing banks to refund those affected by authorised push payment (APP) fraud. APP fraud is typically perpetrated by criminals impersonating trusted individuals and organisations in order to trick people into authorising a payment to an account controlled by a criminal. The criminals will send […]Read More
Money laundering costs the British economy around £37 billion each year. And with the legal sector under increasing scrutiny (and SRA site visits happening right now) it’s something firms should be placing front and centre of their risk planning. A review by the SRA into law firm AML compliance identified the failure to introduce “proper […]Read More
In response to last week’s article on the auto-enrolment of home movers on to the Land Registry’s Property Alert Service, conveyancers have had their say on Today’s Conveyancer. The article suggested that one way to combat conveyancing fraud in the wake of the case of Rev. Hall whose house was “stolen” by fraudsters, is to […]Read More
A reduction in ID fraud risks and significant savings on Professional Indemnity Insurance are inevitable if customers use a digital identity scheme during the home buying process, say experts. Stuart Young, chair of the digital identity group, said that conveyancers who adopt the digital identity trust scheme standards could see PII cover reduce by 40 […]Read More
Should conveyancers auto enrol clients onto the Land Registry Property
A recent case in which a homeowner had their property “stolen” by a fraudster has placed property fraud at the top of the agenda again for conveyancing firms. The fraud, which was reported on the BBC’s “You and Yours” programme, pocketed the fraudster £131,000 after a fraudster impersonated the legal owner of a property and […]Read More
I was all prepared to write about additional enquiries and then I was side-tracked by the news about a house being sold not by the owner but by an ‘imposter.’ The summary of the story is a home owner, Reverend Mike Hall, was alerted to the fact that there was building work being done in […]Read More
Last week the NCA published news of a mother and her two UK-based sons agreeing to hand over their London properties worth more than £1.6 million, in response to a NCA civil recovery claim that linked their purchases with suspected money laundering. Within the details of the case are some key reminders of the type […]Read More
New data from recent reports suggests that despite increased warnings to businesses and individuals to review cyber security measures, phishing scams and nuisance attacks are on the rise. A report released by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in conjunction with litigation firm Griffin Law, reveals that in the first six months of 2021 UK […]Read More
This week a particularly shocking case of a man’s house being ‘stolen’ was reported by the BBC. The staggering realisation that a person’s house can literally be sold without their knowledge is headline grabbing. But when we look at the way this potential crime could have happened, it’s easy to see when the right circumstances align […]Read More
A BBC investigation has uncovered how a homeowner’s identity was stolen resulting in his property being sold with the perpetrator pocketing the £131,000 proceeds of sale. Talking to BBC Radio 4’s “Your and Yours” the Reverend Mike Hall explained how he was working away and had been alerted to the fraud by neighbours who contacted […]Read More
Money laundering is a growing risk in the UK property market, as the Pandora papers demonstrate. The failure of some conveyancers and estate agents to properly verify buyers’ identities, and comply with the relevant AML regulations, means they risk supporting the laundering of dirty money. New AI, Open Banking and facial recognition technology can automate […]Read More
Home buyers are being warned about a spike in scams which have seen victims defrauded out of hundreds of thousands of pounds. The Law Society of England and Wales has joined forces with the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), which is housed within the National Crime Agency, and Action Fraud to issue flyers warning of […]Read More
5 providers sign up to “ID Trust Scheme” pilot
Five identity service providers have committed to the new MyIdentity trust scheme to make home buying and selling in the UK a safe digital process. The five identity service providers are: Digidentity, Nuggets, OBiD, Thirdfort, and Yoti. Their involvement assures consumers will have fully inclusive choices to prove their identity. The hub service provider is […]Read More
Our latest quarterly update webinar started with a view of the current anti-money laundering landscape including: The release of the Pandora papers, which have shown even more the extent to which the mega-rich employ different ways in which to hide their money and avoid paying tax on it; of particular concern to authorities is the […]Read More

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- The conveyancer’s view: “there has to be an easier way of doing this…”
- Diary of a high street conveyancer; 8th August 2022
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- How should conveyancers approach undertakings?
- Diary of a high street conveyancer; 1st August 2022
- Calling on the next generation of conveyancers
- Diary of a high street conveyancer; 25th July 2022
- Burnout… what is it and how can we better cope with stress?