The prevention of fraud in land registration systems Jon Atkey, United Kingdom WPLA Workshop, Sofia, April 2009

Introduction An on-going topic in the WPLA work programme WPLA fifth session, 19–20 November 2007, Geneva: Initial limited survey of delegates re on-line fraud Results inconclusive More work needed to be done A pan-European issue Increasing concern by stakeholders

Land registers . Title plans An example from the UK Documents referred to on the register – eg mortgages  Web-based service for the general public. Income approx £350,000 per month.

Why now? Fraud & forgery exist wherever there is commercial activity Electronic technology has created new opportunities for fraud Electronic land registration systems are now the norm throughout the UN-ECE region Online access is becoming increasingly common

Why now? Feedback from law enforcement agencies The cost of fraud To the individual To land registration authorities To the confidence in individual countries’ governments WPLA members need: to be alert to changing risks Strategies to protect against fraud To maintain stakeholder confidence

Results of the preliminary study 18 member states completed the questionnaire A small minority could identify increased fraud due to online access But only half monitored fraud or monitored trends Little evidence of systematic review and improvement of anti-fraud measures Widespread agreement that sharing intelligence with other jurisdictions would be helpful Agreement to further research

Purpose of the new study Identify best practice in the detection and prevention of fraud Ask how open should public access to data be? Consider whether and how access to data should be restricted Discuss national data protection issues and laws Consider freedom of information

Common aims WPLA members have agreed that: There must be strategies in place to combat fraud There is a need to maintain stakeholders’ confidence in data security They must share intelligence amongst countries and jurisdictions They need to compare best practice in detecting and preventing fraud

The next step 6th plenary session 18-19 June 2009 Presentation of background note and questionnaire for new survey Timetable for reporting back to the WPLA Bureau in early 2010

Proposed timeline July 2009 – Following agreement of questionnaire at the plenary session, questionnaire to be sent by HM Land Registry on behalf of the WPLA to member states for completion September/October 2009 – collate all responses, analyse/check and summarise the results. November 2009 – Verify results with participating states Early 2010 – Results to be delivered back to delegates.