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The service helps people to detect fraudulent activity on their property by sending them email alerts when there is certain activity on the property being monitored, such as a mortgage being taken out against it. The recipient can then decide whether they think the activity is suspicious and act quickly if so. The alert email tells them who to contact should they be concerned.

Alasdair Lewis, Director of Legal 天美影院, said:

Property is usually our most valuable asset so it鈥檚 important to protect it from the ever-increasing risk of fraud. HM Land Registry is doing all it can to detect and prevent fraud but no system can be 100 per cent fraud-proof, which is why we urge people to follow our advice about protecting themselves from property fraud, including signing up for Property Alert.

Property fraud

Property fraud is where fraudsters try to 鈥渟teal鈥� a property, most commonly by stealing the homeowner鈥檚 identity and selling or mortgaging the property without their knowledge. They then disappear with the money leaving the true owner to deal with the consequences.

Since 2009, HM Land Registry has stopped fraud on properties worth more than 拢92 million.

How Property Alert works

You can monitor up to 10 registered properties in England and Wales. You will receive email alerts when there is certain activity on the properties you are monitoring, such as an application to change the ownership details.

Although Property Alert won鈥檛 automatically stop fraud from happening, it鈥檚 a useful early warning of suspicious activity which the home-owner can investigate if they are suspicious.

Find out more about Property Alert and how to sign up for the free service.

Example of how Property Alert helped to prevent a fraud

Most at risk

You鈥檙e more at risk if your property:

• is rented out
• is empty
• is mortgage-free
• isn鈥檛 registered with HM Land Registry

Other fraud protection measures

To help protect yourself against property fraud, make sure:

• your property is registered. If you become an innocent victim of fraud and suffer financial loss as a consequence, you may be compensated. Properties most likely to be unregistered are those that haven鈥檛 changed hands or been mortgaged since 1990
• HM Land Registry has up-to-date contact details so we can reach you easily. You can have up to three addresses in the register including an email address and/or an address abroad

More is available and you can watch our video

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Notes to editors

1. The Property Alert service was launched in March 2014. It won a Real IT award in May 2014 in the 鈥業nnovation in business鈥� category and a Civil Service award for Innovation in November 2014.
2. HM Land Registry operates a property fraud line for anyone who thinks they may be the victim of property fraud. Call 0300 006 7030 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm) or email reportafraud@landregistry.gov.uk.
3. HM Land Registry鈥檚 dedicated counter fraud team works closely with the police and other agencies to help protect properties against property fraud.
4. As a government department established in 1862, executive agency and trading fund responsible to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, HM Land Registry keeps and maintains the Land Register for England and Wales. The Land Register has been open to public inspection since 1990.
5. With the largest transactional database of its kind detailing more than 24 million titles, HM Land Registry underpins the economy by safeguarding ownership of many billions of pounds worth of property.
6. For more information about HM Land Registry, see www.gov.uk/land-registry and .
7. Find us on , and .

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