"One FCA investigation in an entire year is a striking number, and we don't think it reflects the true scale of the problem."
- Olly Thornton-Berry, co-founder and CEO of Thirdfort
The FCA opened just one enforcement investigation into mortgage fraud in 2025, according to new Freedom of Information data obtained by Thirdfort.
Last year’s figures are close to the near-zero activity last seen during the pandemic, raising questions about whether regulators are keeping pace with a rapidly evolving threat.
The figure comes as the Home Office published its latest fraud strategy in March, acknowledging that fraud has grown more digital, global and technologically advanced and committing £31 million to a new Online Crime Centre, designed to bring together expertise from law enforcement, financial institutions and tech firms to tackle organised fraud.
Yet the FCA's own enforcement record tells a different story. The FOI data shows that the total number of FCA mortgage fraud investigations since 2018 now stands at 18, with the 2025 figure representing a retreat from the three to four cases per year recorded across 2022–2024.
The apparent drop in enforcement activity coincides with growing evidence that mortgage fraud, and fraud more generally, is both increasing and becoming harder to detect. Experian's Q4 2025 Fraud Index found that mortgages were the only lending product to record a fraud increase in the period, bucking a broader decline across five other categories analysed.
Meanwhile, Cifas's Fraudscape 2026 report found that AI-enabled document forgery and synthetic identities are making fraud across lending products harder to detect, with criminals now able to fabricate convincing profiles and fake documents at speed and scale.
In addition, separate research found that fraudsters attempted to hijack dozens of properties last year by impersonating legitimate homeowners. HM Land Registry recorded 55 cases between April 2025 and March 2026, highlighting the ongoing threat. In such cases, the fraudster may try to sell the home to an unsuspecting buyer, take out a mortgage secured against it, or transfer ownership using forged documents.
Olly Thornton-Berry, co-founder and CEO of Thirdfort, said: "One FCA investigation in an entire year is a striking number, and we don't think it reflects the true scale of the problem. The FCA is one piece of a wider enforcement picture - the NCA, the SFO and local police forces all play a role - but the direction of travel is concerning. Fraud is getting faster, more convincing and harder to detect, and AI is accelerating that shift.
"The government's new fraud strategy is a step forward, and it's right to invest in the infrastructure needed to tackle this. But enforcement action alone will never be enough when fraudsters can generate convincing fake identities and documents. The professionals handling property transactions need technology that can keep pace with threats that are evolving in real time."
