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Act quickly, preserve every record, and get qualified legal advice. If the property is in England or Wales, tell HM Land Registry promptly about suspected registration fraud and report an alleged forgery to the police. If a sale, purchase, mortgage or transfer is still in progress, ask your conveyancer whether a payment or registration step can be paused safely and lawfully. The reporting, register-correction and compensation processes are separate, so treat each as its own task.

The procedure below is specific to England and Wales. Land registration, police reporting and deadlines differ elsewhere; identify the property’s jurisdiction before relying on any step.

First establish where the property is registered

Property-fraud procedures depend on the land registry and law that govern the title. HM Land Registry’s Practice Guide 39 applies to England and Wales and was last updated on 1 June 2026. The guidance says a person who suspects fraud connected with a property should contact HM Land Registry immediately, and that alleged forgery should also be reported to the police.

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Scotland, Northern Ireland and other countries have different registries, forms, police routes and remedies. If the property is outside England and Wales, use the same general priorities—protect funds, preserve evidence, report suspected crime and obtain local legal advice—but replace every HM Land Registry step, telephone number and deadline with the procedure for that jurisdiction.

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What to do in the first hours

  1. Contact your own solicitor or conveyancer through a verified channel. Use the telephone number or secure portal already on a trusted engagement letter, not a number supplied in the suspicious message. Explain exactly which document, signature, identity detail, bank instruction or registration event appears false.
  2. Consider pausing the next transaction step. If money has not yet been sent or a deed has not yet been lodged, ask the conveyancer whether the payment, completion or registration can be paused safely and lawfully. This is practical risk control, not a universal stop-work rule; your lawyer can assess contractual deadlines, lender instructions and the danger of tipping off a suspected fraudster.
  3. Warn the bank or lender if funds or mortgage instructions are involved. Use an independently verified fraud number. Ask whether a payment can be recalled or held, and record the time, name or reference number and advice received. Do not assume a bank can reverse a completed transfer.
  4. Preserve the evidence before confronting anyone. Keep the document exactly as received and save the surrounding messages, attachments and account details. Do not sign, edit, highlight or write on the only original.
  5. Report the suspected registration fraud and alleged forgery. Contact HM Land Registry promptly for an England and Wales property, and report the alleged forgery to the police. Report Fraud also accepts reports of committed fraud. Keep every crime, incident and call reference.
  6. Ask about protective action on the title. Your conveyancer can advise whether an application for a restriction or another urgent measure is appropriate, and whether an application to correct the register is needed.

Write a short chronology while events are fresh: who sent each item, when it arrived, what you did in response, and which accounts or professionals were involved. A dated chronology helps the police, registry and lawyer distinguish an original event from a later explanation.

Preserve documents and digital evidence properly

Evidence is more useful when its original context and metadata survive. Create a read-only copy for working purposes and keep the untouched original in a secure location. Tell your solicitor before sending an original document anywhere; ask for a receipt and a plan for its return.

Paper records

  • Retain the deed, transfer, power of attorney, identity document, valuation, mortgage paper, completion statement and any covering letter exactly as received.
  • Keep envelopes, courier labels, postmarks, handwritten notes and delivery confirmations.
  • Scan or photograph each page, including blank or reverse sides, without replacing the original.
  • Record when and from whom each item was received and who has handled it.

Electronic records

  • Export the complete email, including headers, sender address, recipient list, date, time, subject and attachment names. A screenshot alone may omit useful routing information.
  • Save messages from chat or text services with the surrounding conversation, timestamps, usernames and phone numbers.
  • Keep the original file formats and a separate working copy. Do not open a suspicious attachment on an unprotected computer merely to inspect it.
  • Record website addresses, bank-account details, QR codes, call numbers and any change-of-bank instruction.

Financial and call records

  • Keep payment confirmations, account statements, invoices, completion ledgers and details of any attempted transfer.
  • Write a note after every call: date, time, number used, person or team, advice given and reference number.
  • Preserve voicemail, call recordings where lawfully made, and two-factor authentication or login alerts relevant to the transaction.

Report Fraud advises keeping copies of transaction paperwork and notes of telephone conversations. Do not delete a suspicious email or reset an account in a way that destroys logs before your lawyer or investigators advise you.

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Use the right reporting route for the right purpose

These routes overlap but do different jobs. Reporting a crime does not itself correct a title, and contacting the registry does not replace a police report.

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Route What it is for What to provide or request
Police Investigation of an alleged forged deed, signature, identity document or other criminal act. Give the suspected document, chronology, evidence of identity or payment, and any crime reference. HM Land Registry asks for the crime reference number and investigating officer’s details so it can liaise with police.
Report Fraud Reporting fraud that has occurred or is being attempted through its reporting service. Submit the transaction history, contact details used by the suspected fraudster, financial loss and police reference if available.
HM Land Registry Alerting the land-registration authority to suspected property fraud and asking about protective or corrective applications. Identify the title or property, the dealing at risk, the suspicious document and any police reference. Use its current contact form or customer-support route.
Bank or lender Containing or tracing a payment and protecting a mortgage account. Report the suspected payment fraud immediately through an independently verified channel and ask what recall, hold or account-security steps are available.
Solicitor or licensed conveyancer Applying the facts to contract, conveyancing, land-registration and professional-negligence issues. Provide the complete evidence set and chronology. Ask for written confirmation of urgent steps and deadlines.

For an imminent fraudulent sale or mortgage in England and Wales, Report Fraud lists the HM Land Registry Property Fraud Line as 0300 006 7030, open Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm. Contact details can change, so confirm the current number and opening hours before relying on them.

Can HM Land Registry stop a fraudulent sale?

It may be able to take protective action, but it is not an automatic stop button and cannot guarantee that a transaction will be halted merely because someone has made a telephone report. Give the Registry the warning immediately, identify any pending dealing and follow its instructions. Your conveyancer can also consider whether an urgent application or court order is needed.

A restriction on later dealings

In many cases, an application can be made for a standard-form restriction requiring a conveyancer to certify that the person executing a lodged disposition is the registered proprietor. That extra certification step can reduce the risk of a later fraudulent sale or mortgage, but it requires an application and is not placed automatically. Ask your lawyer which restriction fits the title and whether evidence of identity, ownership or an existing risk is needed.

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Protecting an owner who is not living at the property

Absence, a vacant property, a recently changed address or an unexpected mortgage instruction can make fraud harder to spot. Tell the Registry and your conveyancer about those facts, keep correspondence sent to the registered address, and arrange a trusted monitoring or contact process where available. Do not rely on a restriction as a substitute for checking the register and securing email, postal and banking accounts.

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If the forged deed or dealing has already been registered

A completed registration does not make a forged document genuine, but correcting the register is a formal legal process. Ask a property-registration solicitor to review the register, the lodged application and the underlying transaction promptly.

Making a rectification or correction application

The formal application should identify the mistake, state the correction or rectification sought and explain the reasons. Include the evidence linking the mistake to the forged document and the effect on the title. The Registry may have only an electronic copy because it is not required to retain original documents, so your copy, the sender’s records and independent evidence may be critical.

When another person objects

A person whose registered interest may be affected can challenge the application. An unresolved objection can prevent completion of the application while it is dealt with and may be referred to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber, Land Registration). That can increase cost and delay. Do not contact an opposing registered owner directly about evidence or settlement without legal advice, especially if police enquiries are active.

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Notice-response deadline

If HM Land Registry issues you a notice of an application to rectify the register, the usual response must arrive by noon on the 15th working day after the notice was issued. This is a deadline for responding to that notice, not a general deadline for reporting suspected forgery. If you need more time, request an extension before the period expires and explain why. Keep proof of how and when your response was delivered.

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How forgery is proved

The person seeking correction must prove that the document was forged. A denial, an unusual signature or an admission by the alleged forger may be important, but the Registry may still require evidence that meets the legal test for the application.

Evidence that can matter

  • Contemporaneous originals and the chain of custody for each document.
  • Earlier genuine signatures, identity records and specimen documents obtained lawfully.
  • Email headers, metadata, delivery records, phone logs and bank records that place a person elsewhere or show an impossible sequence.
  • Statements from witnesses who saw the signing, supplied instructions or handled completion.
  • Police material, expert analysis and admissions, where available.

Handwriting and document experts

HM Land Registry says a handwriting expert report may be required. Do not alter a signature sample or send the only original for informal examination. Ask your solicitor to instruct an appropriately qualified expert and to define the question precisely—for example, whether the disputed signature is consistent with known genuine samples and whether the document shows signs of substitution or alteration.

An admission that a deed was forged does not automatically correct the register. The application still needs evidence and a properly framed remedy. Your lawyer can explain whether the issue is a mistake in the register, a forged instrument, identity fraud, or a different defect with different consequences.

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Rectification is not the same as compensation

Correcting the register addresses the title. Recovering money addresses loss. HM Land Registry’s guidance describes circumstances in which indemnity may be payable after a register mistake causes loss, but indemnity is not an automatic promise to reimburse every expense or fraud loss.

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Keep a loss schedule with supporting documents:

  • money transferred, blocked or stolen, with dates and account references;
  • legal, expert, tracing, valuation and emergency-security fees;
  • additional interest, lender charges, accommodation or sale costs;
  • the calculation of each claimed amount and any insurance or recovery received.

Ask your solicitor to assess separately whether an indemnity claim, civil claim, insurance notification, bank recovery or professional-negligence claim is available. Notify insurers and lenders within their policy or facility deadlines. Do not describe a possible indemnity as guaranteed until the relevant facts and legal conditions have been tested.

What to tell the police and registry

A clear, factual report is easier to act on than a long accusation. Use headings and attach an index of files.

  1. Identify the property, title number if known, transaction type and key dates.
  2. Name the document you believe is false and explain the specific inconsistency: signature, identity, authority, date, witnessing, bank instruction or delivery.
  3. Set out what happened in chronological order, separating what you personally saw from what someone told you.
  4. List everyone involved, including conveyancers, lenders, witnesses, agents and accounts used.
  5. State whether money has moved, whether a dealing has been lodged or registered, and what immediate harm is threatened.
  6. Attach copies, retain originals and identify the location of any physical evidence.
  7. Give existing crime, fraud, title or application references and ask what further information is required.

Avoid guessing the culprit, editing a file to make it clearer or circulating accusations on social media. Those actions can compromise evidence, create defamation risk or interfere with an investigation.

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Common situations and the safest next question

Situation Immediate question to ask your professional
A seller’s signature on a transfer does not match earlier documents. Has the transfer been signed or lodged, and should completion or registration be paused while identity and execution are checked?
A new bank account appears in completion instructions. Can the payment be held or independently re-verified, and has the lender or bank’s fraud team been notified?
You receive a notice about correcting the register. What is the notice date, and can the response be filed before noon on the 15th working day?
The register already shows a buyer or mortgage you did not authorise. What rectification application, restriction or urgent court protection is appropriate, and what evidence proves the mistake?
The suspected forger admits it privately. How should the admission be preserved and reported, and what additional evidence does the Registry still require?

Mistakes that can make recovery harder

  • Waiting for certainty. You can report a suspicion; do not wait for a handwriting report before warning the Registry or police.
  • Using contact details in the suspicious document. Verify every number, email address and bank detail independently.
  • Sending originals without a record. Keep a copy, obtain a receipt and agree who is responsible for secure storage.
  • Assuming a police report fixes the title. Criminal investigation, register correction and financial recovery proceed on different tracks.
  • Assuming registration proves validity. A registered dealing can still be challenged through the appropriate formal process.
  • Missing a notice deadline. Diary the noon deadline immediately and request an extension before it expires if necessary.
  • Promising a result to other parties. State what is suspected, what has been reported and what remains undecided.

Adapting this response outside England and Wales

Keep the sequence but replace the institutions and rules. Find the local land registry’s emergency fraud contact, the police or national fraud-reporting service, the court or tribunal that hears title corrections, and the local deadline for answering a notice. Confirm whether the jurisdiction recognises title restrictions, caveats, notices, freezing orders or equivalent measures, and whether a lawyer must file them.

Ask local counsel these questions:

  • Who can stop or flag a pending transfer or mortgage?
  • What evidence is needed to challenge a registered instrument?
  • What is the response period for an objection or rectification notice?
  • Is there a statutory indemnity scheme, private title insurance or another compensation route?
  • Which originals, translations, notarisation or expert reports are required?

Do not import the England and Wales telephone number, restriction wording, tribunal route or 15-working-day period into another jurisdiction.

A practical evidence-and-deadline checklist

  • Property location and title or parcel reference recorded.
  • Verified solicitor or conveyancer contacted.
  • Bank or lender notified if funds or mortgage instructions are at risk.
  • Original documents, envelopes, complete emails and message exports preserved.
  • Chronology, call notes, payment records and file index prepared.
  • HM Land Registry and police or Report Fraud contacted where the property is in England and Wales.
  • Crime, fraud, title and application references stored in one secure log.
  • Restriction, rectification and any urgent court remedy discussed with counsel.
  • Notice deadlines diarised, including noon on the 15th working day where the HM Land Registry notice rule applies.
  • Losses, fees and calculations retained for any separate recovery or indemnity assessment.

The central rule is speed without destruction of evidence: alert the right authorities, protect money and future dealings, and let a qualified property lawyer coordinate the formal applications.

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