Application Fraud on the Increase

A new report has been released by CIFAS – The UK’s Fraud Prevention Service. It reveals that more people that ever before are lying on application forms in order to gain credit, insurance and other financial products.

The research highlighted a 24% increase in application fraud; with 77,000 recorded cases in 2007. Frauds recorded took the form of both application fraud and many also involved the use of false or altered supporting documents.

Worryingly, 1 in 5 of every fraudulent application was successful, meaning that in 2007 14,500 cases of fraud were successful. This news, combined with the recent news of an increase in mortgage fraud, and the rise in CNP fraud, highlights a worrying increase of fraud affecting the Financial Sector.

One of the most common lies told during application fraud is regarding the length of time the applicant was resident at an address. However using address verification, or wider identity verification checks these claims can easily be verified, enabling businesses to detect and prevent fraud.

The CIFAS report also profiled the fraudsters highlighted in their research, and some of these details are displayed below. The full CIFAS article can be viewed here.