The Land Registry has launched a new service, Property Alert, to protect property owners from fraud.

Property fraud can happen in many ways. For example, fraudsters may attempt to acquire ownership of a property by using forged documents, or by impersonating the registered owner. The fraudsters may then raise money by mortgaging the property without the owner's knowledge before disappearing without making repayments, leaving the owner to deal with the consequences.

Alasdair Lewis, Director of Legal Services, said: "Following a successful trial of Property Alert, we hope that many homeowners will want to sign up for this new free service to help them protect what is probably their most valuable asset."

According to Land Registry, people can sign up and register up to three properties to be monitored. Email alerts will be sent when Land Registry receives an application to change the register as well as for official searches.

The property owner can then judge whether or not the activity is suspicious. For example, if a bank search has been conducted but the property owner has not applied for a mortgage would be suspicious.

On receiving an alert detailing suspicious activity, the owner is then able to seek legal advice, contact Action Fraud or contact the bank in question to tell them they are the owner and have not applied for a mortgage.