Property Fraud - Agents have key role to deter crime

An hour-long webinar this week aims to inform agents how to deter property fraud by greater emphasis on compliance, due diligence and verification.

The event - at 10am on Wednesday - is being held by PropTech platform Checkboard and will cover: 

Current regulations to be compliant: for example, what the law states, and what agents have to do in order to adhere to HMRC regulations, as well as being part of The Property Ombudsman scheme;

What agents should do when they get an alert that a customer is more of a risk – for example anti-money laundering checks, Politically Exposed Persons, and Sanction Screening;

An explanation of how Checkboard gets its AML data from LexisNexis due to its large reach with external databases such as Experian and Equifax;

The importance of Land Registry checks and why it's crucial to carry one out before solicitors get involved.

Ex-Leaders Romans group executive Yazad Bajina, who is now sales and partnership director at Checkboard, will be joined on the webinar by experts including Russell Humphrey, founder and chief executive of The Humphrey Group.

Bajina says: “Sadly, property fraud is on the rise, and can be financially devastating in many cases. High-profile stories have emerged in the national press in recent times of people’s homes being sold without their knowledge, of people losing everything to scammers. What’s more, the tactics used are increasingly sophisticated and clever.”

Bajina believes it is the industry’s responsibility as a whole to deter or prevent fraud, with agents in particular having a central role by knowing what to look for, and having appropriate protocols and procedures.

He adds: “Our webinar will be aiming to help educate agents, landlords, property professionals, investors and others regarding the role compliance, due diligence and verification have when it comes to limiting the chances of property fraud occurring. We have brought together a panel of experts to ensure the property industry remains one step ahead of the criminal gangs who seek to exploit and make people’s lives a misery.”

You can register for the free event here.