How can conveyancers be protected from fraud within the property industry?

By Rob Gurney, Managing Director, Ochresoft

The spectrum of fraud within the property sector continues to change, and although confirmed cases are rare, fraud attempts continue to target conveyancers and create significant operational and financial risk. In the 2024 to 2025 period, HM Land Registry received more than 4.4 million applications to create or update the Land Register. Only 86 of these were identified as fraudulent, which equates to just over 0.0019 per cent. While this number appears small, the impact of a single successful fraud attempt can be devastating for the individuals and firms involved.

HM Land Registry continues to refine its fraud detection measures and works with government bodies and property sector partners to raise awareness and combat criminal activity. Despite these efforts, conveyancers remain prime targets for increasingly sophisticated scams that exploit busy workloads, digital communication gaps and the growing complexity of modern transactions.

This landscape means the focus should extend beyond protecting clients. It is equally important to support and safeguard the conveyancers who manage significant legal and financial responsibilities throughout a transaction. This blog explores the types of fraud that increasingly target conveyancing professionals, the pressures this creates for firms, and the useful steps and digital safeguards that can add protection and reduce day‑to‑day risk.

The evolving fraud challenges conveyancers are facing

Conveyancers now face attempts including identity fraud and vendor impersonation, payment diversion attempts and the interception of digital communication. These are risks that can undermine confidence, delay transactions and expose professionals to financial and regulatory consequences.

Each of these risks places conveyancers in a particularly difficult position as they are in the middle of the transaction process. Clients, lenders, estate agents and regulators all rely on conveyancers to identify and prevent potential issues, even when fraud attempts are increasingly difficult to spot. This creates a level of responsibility that can feel heavy, especially when workloads are high and time pressures are tight.

Together, these pressures highlight why conveyancers need systems that support them. They deserve tools that help them work confidently, reduce risk, and provide structure in an increasingly complex environment. Reliable workflows and strong digital safeguards do not replace professional judgement; they reinforce it, giving conveyancers peace of mind that the essential checks are being completed accurately every time.

How Intelliworks helps reduce fraud risk for conveyancers

Intelliworks, Ochresoft’s leading case management tool, plays a key role in strengthening protection for conveyancers by combining compliance, workflow structure and automated guidance within a single system. It ensures that every stage of a property transaction is supported by consistent checks, reducing risks and improving professional confidence.

• Built-in AML and fraud risk assessments – Intelliworks incorporates AML and fraud risk assessments within its workflows, aligned with regulatory guidance. This ensures checks are completed thoroughly, lowering the chance of errors.
• Risk checkpoints at key stages – Risk reviews throughout the workflows prompt fee earners to verify information at critical points. This helps identify suspicious patterns earlier and prevents steps being accidentally missed during busy periods.
• Client-friendly advice on property fraud – We provide straightforward and practical advice for clients to help them stay alert and protect themselves at every stage of their property transaction.
• Automatic regulatory updates – as regulations and professional guidance shift, Intelliworks is regularly updated to reflect the highest standards of practice. This helps conveyancers to work efficiently and remove the risk of unknowingly using outdated procedures.
• Increased supervisory confidence – fraudsters are most likely to prey on conveyancers where secure systems and processes are not rigorously followed.  Law firm supervisors can take comfort from knowing that Intelliworks ensures that all users are adhering to strict processes consistently and with full audit trails.

Building a safer, more resilient conveyancing practice

Fraud methods are constantly transforming, but so are the solutions available to defend against them. By reinforcing verification processes, enhancing communication security and adopting structured workflows, firms can better protect conveyancers from growing risk.

Supporting legal professionals is vital to maintaining a resilient conveyancing practice. Intelliworks provides the guidance, automation and compliance support that help conveyancers feel more secure in their work, minimise exposure to risk and maintain consistent professional standards.

This results in them feeling more supported and equipped to navigate the challenges of modern conveyancing.

Find out more

To learn more about how Ochresoft supports law firms in building safer and more resilient conveyancing processes, please visit: https://www.ochresoft.com/