Conveyancing fraud and payment diversion FAQ

Payment diversion fraud is when a fraudster intercepts bank details in a property transaction and gets money sent to an account they control instead of the intended recipient. In conveyancing it usually starts with a compromised email account, followed by a message that looks like it comes from the seller's solicitor, the buyer, or their bank, carrying new or corrected payment details. The request is urgent, the account looks genuine, and the funds are often unrecoverable by the time the error is spotted.

Cifas reported 143 cases worth £11.7m in a single year, with an average loss around £78,000 per case. The risk concentrates at completion, when the largest sums move between buyer, seller, solicitor, and lender. The fraud works because both parties assume the bank details they hold are the correct ones.

Fraudsters typically compromise an email account somewhere in the chain, often a client's, an estate agent's, or a firm's. They follow the transaction and then send a plausible request: the bank details have changed, a different account should be used, or funds need to go elsewhere because of a delay. The change happens between two trusted parties, so neither side realises the details were intercepted.

Not on its own. Confirmation of Payee is a best-effort name and account match made when a payment is sent, and it does not cover every bank. It cannot review the documents or the people behind the transaction. Immutis confirms the receiving account is registered to the party you are paying, runs forensics on the documents, screens identity and media for AI generation, and records the account holder confirming the details before funds move.

Confirm the receiving account is registered to the party you are paying, review the documents behind the money for tampering, screen identity and media for AI generation, and confirm the exact bank details with the account holder directly. Immutis runs all four and produces one signed verification report per matter, so the checks are documented and repeatable.

Yes. Document forensics works on files already in your matter, such as payslips, proof of funds, ID, and source-of-funds paperwork. We examine metadata, structure, and content for signs of tampering or AI generation, and we are explicit when a document cannot be conclusively verified.

You see exactly what failed and why, in the signed report. There are no obscured verdicts. Most firms treat a fail or a flag as a stop-and-question point on the matter before completion, not a block.

The Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme expects accredited firms to have fraud prevention controls in place, and the SRA expects firms to have adequate systems and controls to protect client money. A signed, timestamped verification record shows what you checked, when, and how. It is evidence of a control, not a guarantee, and it sits on the matter file ready for audit.

Not exactly. AML checks establish who a person is against trusted records. Immutis verifies the receiving account, the documents behind the money, and the identity and media you were given, and it records the account holder confirming the details. It supports your AML and anti-fraud duties, it does not replace them.

A human verifier from our team. They confirm the exact bank details with the account holder in their own words, and the call is recorded and attached to the matter.

Most reports are complete within 48 hours of submission. Monthly plans get priority turnaround, and the top tier gets the fastest.

Anyone you choose. Each report carries a public verify link checked against our published signing key, with no account required. Your lender, your insurer, or a colleague can confirm the report is genuine and unaltered.

Yes. Your professional indemnity insurer wants documented anti-scam controls. A signed verification report on the matter file is a record of what you verified, when, and how, and it stands up to audit and to disputes.

Upload through a secure link, or use our API and webhooks. The signed report lands with the matter file, ready to file and share with your lender or insurer.

Matters, documents, and reports are isolated per firm. Files are encrypted at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.3), stored in UK and EU residency, and retained only as long as the matter requires.

£99 per verification with no commitment, £299 a month for up to five verifications, or £499 a month for up to twenty with £99 top-ups beyond that. Every price includes all four checks and the signed report.