Fraudsters attempted to hijack dozens of properties by posing as legitimate homeowners over the past year, according to new figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request.

Data from HM Land Registry, obtained by property consultancy Novus Strategy, shows 55 attempted property hijacking cases were recorded between April 2025 and March 2026.

In these scams, criminals attempt to sell a property, secure a mortgage against it or transfer ownership using forged documents while impersonating the genuine owner. Mortgage-free homes, buy-to-let properties and homes left vacant for extended periods are considered particularly vulnerable, as owners may not notice suspicious activity until significant damage has been done.

Pete Gatenby, AI practice partner at Novus Strategy said: “Owner impersonation fraud may be rare but it’s a high-impact crime. The concern is that AI can generate increasingly convincing fake documents, meaning they are less likely to be detected by verification processes designed for an earlier generation of fraud. That means today’s figures may understate the real risk we’re facing in the coming years.”

He added: “A key challenge is that no single organisation has visibility of the entire property transaction journey or a complete view of owner impersonation risk. HM Land Registry sees suspected fraudulent registration applications, Action Fraud records payment diversion cases, and incidents involving forged identity documents or fraudulent conveyancer certification are not separately tracked, creating a fragmented landscape.

“Identity and ownership are checked in isolation, at one desk, at one moment, with no shared, reusable, audited record of who was verified and how.”

One of the highest-profile examples of owner impersonation fraud involved the Reverend Mike Hall, whose mortgage-free home in Luton was sold without his knowledge in 2021 after fraudsters used stolen identity details and forged documents to impersonate him.

By the time Hall became aware of the fraud, ownership had been transferred, the property had been emptied and renovation work had begun. Although HM Land Registry later restored his ownership, it took years before he regained possession of the property.

Commenting on the findings, Gatenby said stronger identity verification could help reduce the risk of owner impersonation fraud. He argued that verifying homeowners to a high standard, such as through passport NFC chip verification, and enabling that verification to be reused by trusted parties throughout the conveyancing process, would strengthen protections against fraudulent property transactions.

He said: “This is essentially the basis for Horizontal Digital Integration (HDI). By enabling verified identity to move seamlessly between estate agents, brokers, lenders, conveyancers and HM Land Registry, HDI reduces the need for repeated checks and the opportunities for fraud.”

The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 provides the statutory foundations for trusted digital identity through the DVS Trust Framework, while industry initiatives such as CFIT’s Coalition 4 are implementing the way identity is reused across the property transaction process.