25 October 2025 , 21:45
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UK households with £78,000 bank balances risk them being reduced to £0. City of London Police and Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, are urging the public to remain vigilant following a rise in payment diversion fraud - commonly known as conveyancing fraud.
This type of fraud often involves criminals impersonating solicitors or estate agents to intercept large financial transfers during property transactions.
Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, 143 cases of conveyancing fraud were reported to Action Fraud, resulting in £11.7 million in losses. The vast majority involved residential property transactions, accounting for 140 reports and £10.97 million in losses, with an average loss of £78,393 per case.
In an email sent out warning people about the scam, Action Fraud said: "This type of fraud isn’t limited to home purchases - it has also been reported in rental agreements and probate transactions, where funds are transferred as part of estate settlements. Fraudsters will often use hacked or spoofed email accounts so that their messages can appear highly authentic.
"Victims may not realize they’ve been deceived until the money is gone."
Detective Superintendent Oliver Little, from the Lead Force Operations Room at the City of London Police, said: “Conveyancing fraud is a deeply invasive crime that strikes at a moment when people are making one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.
"Criminals exploit trust and urgency to divert life-changing sums of money into their own accounts, leaving victims devastated - both financially and emotionally.
“We’re urging anyone involved in property transactions to stay alert, verify payment requests directly, and treat any last-minute changes to bank details as a red flag. Any genuine solicitor or firm will never pressure you into sending money quickly.”
One victim said: "We were in the process of completing a house purchase, with contracts already exchanged. We’d been communicating with a legitimate solicitor via email. Then, an email almost identical to the solicitor’s was sent to me and my partner, asking for 10% of the purchase price.
“The subject line matched the property address, and the signature looked genuine. On closer inspection, the sender’s name was missing a single letter. I questioned the request but received a reply with a Word document containing the solicitor’s logo, name, and bank details.
“I transferred 10% of the funds, then sent the remaining deposit before realizing it was a scam.”
Head of Investigations