Agents asked to help shield home owners from property fraud
Title Guardian says its new service 'watches' a range of Government and market data feeds to spot when scammers are trying to take over a property.
A tech-based service has launched that protects homeowners and landlords from the growing threat of property-related fraud.
Title Guardian does what is says on the tin, monitoring people’s homes by ‘watching’ a variety of digital sources that are often augurs of criminal activity.
This includes the Land Registry, Companies House, the main property portals and other Government databases.
If suspicious activity is detected, the homeowner receives instant alerts via text, email and app notification so any potential fraud threat can be stopped.
Law firms, estate agents and mortgage lenders can embed Title Guardian into their own offerings and provide protection both for their clients, and themselves.
Fraud
Scams that the service is designed to stop include title fraud and also people who use real addresses to set up fake companies – a technique often used in rental and other frauds.
Title Guardian is the first solution on the market to proactively protect homeowners and landlords against these threats and alert them at the earliest opportunity.
The firm says HM Land Registry’s property alert service, which is free and sends home owners an email if someone tries to register their property in another name, is often too late to stop the fraud taking place.
There is a risk to all property owners.”
The risks increase where property is not mortgaged, is rented out or is empty – these circumstances can increase the opportunity for criminals to access materials that lead to property fraud.
“Today marks an important development for property owners – and the industry as a whole” says John Daw, Title Guardian’s CEO. “It’s widely known that the industry’s processes require significant modernisation and digitisation. One key area requiring action is to address how unsecure the property market is.”
“The availability of homeowner data on the government’s open register naturally creates risks, as that data can be sold to anyone, including those with criminal intent.
“Government organisations like Companies House and the DVLA can also unintentionally assist frauds, where checks on activities are not robust.
“So, after a successful beta phase, we’re pleased we can now bring this important technology to market, to provide much needed protection against these threats”.
Property fraud hit the headlines recently when a church minister had his property stolen by his tenants while he was away.
Title Guardian is available to all homeowners and landlords in England and Wales via its mobile app, with the desktop version online from 1st January 2024.
