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‘Friday afternoon fraud’: warning for UK homebuyers on bank scams

The Guardian Business Sunday 23 August 2026, 06:00 UTC By Hilary Osborne 1 min read
Key Points

Victims have lost tens of thousands – and in one case £300,000 – due to fake emails from solicitor or estate agentYou are poised to move house and are awaiting the solicitor’s instructions that things are ready to go and it is time to hand over your deposit. When the email arrives giving you their bank details, you set up the transfer and move the cash. And then the solicitor calls to ask where the money is.

Victims have lost tens of thousands – and in one case £300,000 – due to fake emails from solicitor or estate agent

You are poised to move house and are awaiting the solicitor’s instructions that things are ready to go and it is time to hand over your deposit. When the email arrives giving you their bank details, you set up the transfer and move the cash. And then the solicitor calls to ask where the money is.

Conveyancing fraud involves criminals getting access to an email chain between homebuyers and their solicitors or estate agents and requesting payment to a bank account they control. Sometimes the solicitor has been hacked, but often the homebuyer has been the victim of a phishing exercise.

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UK (LOCATION) Conveyancing (ORG)
Originally published by The Guardian Business Read original →

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‘Friday afternoon fraud’: warning for UK homebuyers on bank scams

Victims have lost tens of thousands – and in one case £300,000 – due to fake emails from solicitor or estate agentYou are poised to move house and are awaiting the solicitor’s instructions that things are ready to go and it is time to hand over your deposit. When the email arrives giving you their bank details, you set up the transfer and move the cash. And then the solicitor calls to ask where the money is.

The Guardian World 1h ago

‘Friday afternoon fraud’: warning for UK homebuyers on bank scams

Victims have lost tens of thousands – and in one case £300,000 – due to fake emails from solicitor or estate agentYou are poised to move house and are awaiting the solicitor’s instructions that things are ready to go and it is time to hand over your deposit. When the email arrives giving you their bank details, you set up the transfer and move the cash. And then the solicitor calls to ask where the money is.

The Guardian UK 1h ago