Cash deposits vanish in house buying scam

Dozens of homebuyers are being conned out of thousands of pounds every year by fraudsters who steal online payments meant to go via solicitors.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority - the regulatory body in England and Wales - told the Victoria Derbyshire programme that they get at least one case of this nature reported to them every week.

The City of London police say that between the 1st January 2013 to the 31st October 2015 - the average loss for reported incidents was £112,310.

Victoria Derbyshire programme presenter Joanna Gosling spoke to Steve Proffitt, Deputy Head of Action Fraud, Paul Philip, the chief executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and solicitor Peter Rodd.

See the full discussion on homebuyer fraud here.

Watch Victoria Derbyshire weekdays from 09:15-11:00 BST on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel. Follow the programme on Facebook and Twitter, and find all our content online.

  • UK