Surge In Mortgage Fraud Activity Reported In Q3
Fri, 09 Dec 2011
Cases of attempted mortgage fraud saw a significant increase in the three months to the end of September, according to new figures from Experian .

The company’s latest fraud index showed that some 49 in every 10,000 mortgage fraud applications made in the third quarter of 2011 were fraudulent, an increase of 53 per cent from the previous quarter and 77 per cent up from the same period in 2010.

Nick Mothershaw, director of identity and fraud at Experian UK and Ireland, said: "More than 90 per cent of mortgage fraud tends to originate from genuine individuals misrepresenting their financial situations attempting to buy property that would ordinarily be out of reach."

Current accounts also continued to be frequently targeted by fraudsters, with 30 in every 10,000 applications in Q3 found to be illicit, up 48 per cent year-on-year but 39 per cent down from Q2 2011.

Fraudulent savings account applications during the last quarter also rose by 47 per cent year-on-year and 16 per cent over the previous quarter.

Mothershaw added: "Current accounts continue to be frequently targeted, which combined with the growth in savings account fraud, points towards an increasing trend for deposit accounts to be targeted for money laundering purposes or to then be used as a springboard to more lucrative credit products."

Experian’s Fraud Index utilises data from the National Hunter and Insurance Hunter fraud prevention systems, which enable financial companies to analyse applications alongside previous ones and highlight inconsistencies which may be indicative of fraud.
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