UK homebuyers are being warned about a surge in conveyancing fraud, a scam that has cost victims tens of thousands of pounds and, in one case, the entire £300,000 purchase price of a property. The fraud typically occurs at the very end of a home sale, often on a Friday afternoon, when buyers are poised to transfer their deposit.
How the scam works
Conveyancing fraud involves criminals gaining access to the email chain between homebuyers and their solicitors or estate agents. They then send a convincing email requesting payment to a bank account they control. In some cases, the solicitor's email account has been hacked, but more often the homebuyer has fallen victim to a phishing exercise.
The scam is sometimes called “Friday afternoon fraud” because it tends to take place at the end of a sale, which is often timed just before a weekend. The large sums involved in property sales mean that fraudsters only need to land a few victims to make a significant amount of money.
Scale of the problem
Report Fraud (formerly known as Action Fraud) recorded 3,657 scams involving persuading people to pay into the wrong bank account in the 2025-26 financial year, costing victims a total of £101m. Conveyancing fraud is a subset of this. Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, Report Fraud recorded 140 property cases with an average loss of £78,393. In the worst case covered by the Guardian, a homebuyer transferred the entire £300,000 purchase price to the wrong account.
The City of London police has warned that this type of fraud is not limited to purchases. It has also been reported by renters who have lost money they thought they had paid to their letting agent, and in probate transactions.
What the fake emails look like
The fraudulent message looks just like an email from your solicitor or estate agent. It asks you to make a payment that you were already expecting to make, but it may arrive earlier than expected. It may say that the solicitors’ firm has new bank details and that the payment needs to be made quickly.
If your solicitor’s email has been hacked, the message could come from their genuine address. However, fraudsters usually use a spoofed email address, so careful inspection may reveal a slight difference from the genuine company’s address, such as a missing letter or an extra punctuation mark.
How to protect yourself
To avoid becoming a victim, do not post about your impending move on social media, as fraudsters could spot this and target you. Ensure your email account is secure by using a strong password and enabling any extra protection offered, such as two-factor authentication. Avoid logging into public wifi to check your emails, as this gives fraudsters a potential access point.
If you are expecting to exchange on a property soon, ask for the solicitor’s bank details in person or over the phone, using a call you have made to them. Any message suggesting your solicitor has changed their bank details should be checked out in the same way. Heed any warnings from your bank when transferring money; if the name on the account does not match what you expect, stop and verify everything.
If you have made a transfer that was not legitimate, contact your bank immediately. The City of London police and Report Fraud continue to urge vigilance, as the financial and emotional impact of such scams can be devastating for homebuyers and renters alike.
