How UK Gangs Are Using Identity Theft To Obtain Residential Property

Criminal gangs in the UK have been committing identity theft to obtain residential property, the Mail on Sunday has reported.

In an article on 4th November 2007, details are given about West Midlands Police charging seven people with fraud for a sum of £1.3 million. It seems that the gang have been using information available on the website of HM Land Registry to help them.

For a sum of £3 per property, information relating to property ownership, mortgages and other sensitive information can be purchased for most registered properties. Initial reports suggest that this information has been used to help gangs obtain around £12 million in the preceeding two years.

It seems that the gangs have produced fraudulent identity documents and the information on the HMLR site to trick solicitors, banks and officials into transferring property ownership. The gangs then either sell the property or take out a new mortgage and vanish with the proceeds.

To be sure, this is a complex, time consuming and large scale crime. The criminals must be very organised as it would take some time to select target properties and owners, create fake ID documents, open bank accounts and sell or remortgage properties. However, committing identity theft to obtain residential property is a crime with very large potential gains.

It appears that the criminals have been targetting tennanted property as the owner may not be in a position to see post on a regular basis - thus enabling them time to operate.

The victims are usually compensated for their losses, but in the meantime have to face the ordeal of convincing banks, building societies, the police and debt collectors that they are the innocent victims of a scam.

This scam is possible because in a growing number of cases, HM Land Registry documents which have been scanned and displayed online show mortgage application documents which include sensitive personal information about the applicant and their signature. Clearly, being able to see and print out a signature gives conmen a real advantage.

To see more identity theft news from the UK, please go to:

UK Identity Theft News