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Aipedia: Conveyancers and property lawyers
Digital and AI-based ID checks help conveyancers verify clients quickly, but a passed check does not move responsibility for identifying the client to the provider. That matters because seller impersonation leaves the buyer and lender with a loss and the firm with a claim.
Part of: AI in Conveyancers and property lawyers
In short
Many conveyancing firms verify buyers and sellers with digital ID tools that match a selfie to a document and check databases. Generative AI makes forged documents, synthetic identities and deepfake video easier to produce, which raises the risk of a fraudster posing as the owner of a property. The CLC AI guidance does not cover deepfakes or ID fraud, so existing fraud and AML duties apply. If a sale by an impostor completes, claims from the true owner, buyer or lender are usually handled under PI, subject to the policy terms and how related claims are aggregated.
Digital ID verification is widely used in residential conveyancing. Clients photograph a passport or driving licence, take a live selfie and the provider uses automated matching, document checks and database searches to produce a result. The CLC's ConveyancingTech Guide lists digital ID checks among the technology practices use, and its Tech Adoption page refers to a CLC joint statement on digital ID checking tools.
These tools are good at catching crude forgeries and are faster than in-person checks. They are not designed to answer the question that matters in seller fraud: is this person actually the registered owner with the right to sell?
Seller impersonation commonly targets properties that are empty, let or mortgage-free, where the true owner is unlikely to notice. Generative AI lowers the cost of the fraud: realistic forged documents, synthetic identities built from real and invented data, and video or voice that can pass a casual liveness or video-call check.
The CLC's fraud and cybercrime hub warns about email interception, bank detail changes, fake CLC emails and bogus websites, and refers to Law Society research that 1 in 5 firms were targeted by scammers. None of its alerts is labelled as AI or deepfake fraud, and the CLC's AI and Technology Guidance expressly does not cover deepfakes, AML or ID fraud. The firm's existing fraud and AML duties fill that gap.
HM Land Registry runs a property fraud line (0300 006 7030) and a reportafraud@landregistry.gov.uk inbox, both listed on the CLC hub.
The firm, not the ID provider, is responsible for deciding whether it knows who its client is. Relying on a provider's pass result without considering the wider picture is a judgement the firm will have to justify. For solicitor conveyancers, Code 7.2 requires firms to be able to justify decisions, and Code for Firms 2.1 requires effective systems and controls.
The CLC guidance still helps on the technology side. Principle 1 asks for a risk assessment; Principle 3 asks practices to understand how a tool could fail and how the provider manages incidents; Principle 4 prompts plain-English explanations of automated risk scoring. Where onboarding decisions are made automatically, the automated decision-making reforms in s.80 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, in force from 5 February 2026, may also be relevant.
Illustrative scenario: a firm is instructed to sell a mortgage-free let property. The "seller" passes a digital ID check using a high-quality forged passport and a selfie that the tool matches. Contact is by email and video call. The firm does not ask how the seller came to own the property or check the address history against the register. The sale completes and the proceeds go to an overseas account. The true owner discovers the fraud and seeks rectification of the register; the buyer and its lender look to the firms involved.
Apex covers a similar case in a conveyancing vendor fraud scenario and the wider risk in the conveyancing fraud risk guide.
Claims arising from seller impersonation are civil liability claims, and conveyancing PI usually responds subject to the policy terms. CLC practices must carry at least £2m for each and every claim under the CLC PII arrangements. Points that commonly arise are whether the firm acted reasonably, how much the buyer's own solicitor and the lender contributed, and whether a series of frauds using the same method is treated as one claim or several. See aggregation of multi-property fraud claims.
The ID provider's contract may limit what the firm can recover from it, so the firm's PI is usually the main protection.
Apex arranges PI for conveyancers and can explain how your policy treats fraud claims and related-claim aggregation. See AI in conveyancing.
Possibly, but recovery depends on the provider's contract, which often caps liability. The firm usually faces the claim from the buyer, lender or true owner first, and its PI is normally the main source of cover, subject to the terms.
No. The CLC states that its AI and Technology Guidance does not cover deepfakes, AML or ID fraud. Firms should rely on their fraud and AML procedures and the CLC's fraud and cybercrime material.
It depends on the facts and the aggregation wording. Frauds using the same method, by the same people, across several properties may be argued to be related. Your broker can explain how your policy treats this.
Follow your internal procedure and AML reporting duties. The CLC fraud hub lists HM Land Registry's property fraud line and reportafraud inbox. Tell your broker promptly if a claim may follow.
Tell us about your firm and the work you do. A broker will review how your current PI treats AI-assisted work, or arrange new cover. No fee for a quote. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Start a PI quote Request a callbackApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information about how AI is used in the profession and how insurance may respond. It is not legal, regulatory or insurance advice on your circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
