What Is Conveyancing Fraud? How UK Homebuyers Get Scammed and How to Stay Safe
A home purchase is one of the biggest financial moves most people make. The final stage, when the deposit is due, is also the moment criminals strike hardest. Conveyancing fraud, sometimes called “Friday afternoon fraud,” involves fraudsters intercepting email chains between buyers and their solicitors or estate agents to redirect payments into accounts they control.
How the scam works
Criminals gain access to an email thread through phishing attacks or by hacking the solicitor’s account. They then send a message that looks identical to the genuine one, asking for payment to be made to a new bank account. The timing is deliberate: the request often arrives late on a Friday, just before a weekend, when urgency is high and the buyer is eager to complete. The recipient may not realise the money has gone to the wrong place until the solicitor calls to ask where the funds are.
This type of fraud is not limited to home purchases. The City of London Police has warned that renters and people involved in probate transactions have also lost money.
The scale of the problem
Report Fraud, the national reporting centre formerly known as Action Fraud, recorded 3,657 cases of payment diversion fraud in the 2025-26 financial year, costing victims a total of £101 million. Conveyancing fraud is a subset of that. Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, there were 140 property-related reports with an average loss of £78,393. The Guardian has reported on one case where a homebuyer transferred the entire £300,000 purchase price to a scammer’s account.
Detective Superintendent Oliver Little, from the City of London Police, described the crime as “deeply invasive” and said criminals exploit trust and urgency to divert life-changing sums of money.
How to spot the warning signs
The fake email may come from a spoofed address that is almost identical to the solicitor’s – missing a single letter or containing an extra punctuation mark. It may claim that the firm has changed bank details and ask for a quick payment. The message can arrive earlier than expected, even if the buyer was already anticipating a request.
One victim told InView that the email they received used the correct subject line and signature, but the sender’s name was missing one letter. They questioned it, received a Word document with the solicitor’s logo and bank details, and then transferred 10% of the purchase price, followed by the remaining deposit, before realising the mistake.
Steps to protect yourself
Take these precautions before and during the transaction:
- Ask for your solicitor’s bank details in person or over the phone, using a number you have called yourself. Do not rely on numbers or links in an email.
- Treat any message that says the firm has changed its bank details as a red flag. Verify it directly with the solicitor.
- Do not post about your house move on social media, as fraudsters can use that information to target you.
- Secure your own email account with a strong password and two-factor authentication.
- Avoid using public Wi-Fi to check emails related to the transaction.
- When you make the transfer, pay attention to any warnings from your bank. If the name on the account does not match what you expect, stop and check.
If you do make a payment to a fraudulent account, contact your bank immediately. The faster you act, the better the chance of recovering the funds.