Authorised Push Payment Fraud during a property transaction

Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud is the most common type of financial scam in the UK.

It works simply by tricking individuals and businesses into sending money under false pretences eg your house deposit or purchase monies. 

APP cost the UK economy £459 million in 2023 alone.  

APP fraud attempts can be as simple as a text, phonecall or email claiming to be from your solicitor asking for funds to be transferred. You then send money as requested, but to the scammers bank account instead of to your solicitor. 

If your email password has been compromised fraudsters can read every email you send and receive, sometimes for years, giving them more than enough information to pretend to be your solicitor or bank during a property transaction. Change passwords REGULARLY.

We will NEVER email you our bank details.

Whether you receive an email, phonecall or letter from someone purporting to be Hargreaves Gilman, we will never change our bank details that were provided to you at the start of your property transaction.

Contact your bank's fraud department as a matter of utmost urgency, then inform our Conveyancing department. 

ALWAYS send a test payment first, using the bank details we originally provided to you. CALL us and ask us to confirm our bank details. Call us to CHECK each payment has been received. Call us using the ORIGINAL number on the original paperwork we provided. If in doubt, STOP.

A house-buyer was scammed into handing over £640,000 as part of a conveyancing fraud. Emails between the buyer and their solicitor had been intercepted by criminals.

As a result, the criminals were able to collect all of the information relating to the house purchase. 

The criminals then used a spoofed email account (made to look like that of the solicitor) to request payment. 

Payment details were provided on headed solicitors’ paper via the spoofed email, and the amount requested was exactly what the house-buyer had expected to pay.

The victim was later advised by the genuine solicitor that these payments had not been requested. The majority of the money was never recovered, all-but wiping out the victim’s equity and savings, and leading to the collapse of their purchase. The fraud had a devastating life-long impact on the house-buyer and their personal finances.