Mortgage fraud increases by 23 per cent year-on-year

The mortgage industry saw a 23% jump in attempted fraud rates between April and June 2012, according to information services company Experian. A total of 39 in every 10,000 mortgage applications were identified as fraudulent between April and June 2012, up from 32 in during the same period in 2011. Experian's fraud analysis also says that the majority of false applications 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 providing misleading employment histories. Nick Mothershaw, Director of Identity & Fraud Services at Experian in the UK and Ireland, comments: â€œOver 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." August 24, 2012