Big jump in liar mortgage applications

There was a 23% jump in attempted mortgage fraud in the second quarter of this year, Experian has reported.

This was despite a 3% drop in fraud across financial services products as a whole.

Some 39 in every 10,000 mortgage applications were identified as fraudulent between April and June 2012, up from 32 in the same period in 2011.

Experian’s fraud analysis also revealed that the majority of attacks on mortgage products continue to come from first-party fraudsters – individuals misrepresenting their own circumstances.

Almost a quarter (24%) of attempted mortgage fraud was due to individuals hiding adverse credit information and a further one in five (21%) applicants provided misleading employment histories.
 
Fraud rates affecting savings accounts more than doubled in the same period.

A total of 13 fraudulent applications in every 10,000 were detected, up from six in every 10,000 a year ago.
 
Nick Mothershaw, director of identity and fraud services at Experian in the UK and Ireland, said: “Over the course of the last year, we have seen mortgages continue to be targeted at a high rate, with more people trying to misrepresent their personal, employment and credit information on applications to get properties out of their reach.

“At the same time, we have also seen an increase in the number of properties where the use of the property is misdeclared, such as applying for a regular residential mortgage on a buy-to-let property.
 
“Meanwhile, deposit taking products such as current and savings accounts continue to be heavily targeted by third-party identity fraudsters for money laundering purposes and as a sleeper platform from which to target more lucrative credit products.
 
“Robust fraud prevention relies on thorough and efficient validation of customers’ identities and the information presented on the application form.

“It is vital that finance providers share comprehensive and timely information about finance applications and known frauds to help combat this common threat to the industry.”