The number of mortgage fraud cases in the UK fell 11 percent last year, attributed to the decline in mortgage application fraud, according to a report by CIFAS.
However, this type of fraud remains the most common. The CIFAS report said the lack of employment and worries over future prospects may have discouraged fraudsters who would have otherwise committed mortgage application fraud.
Even though the total number of mortgage application fraud cases in 2011 decreased from 2010, cases in which borrowers provided false employment details nearly doubled, from 283 in 2010 to 512 in 2011.
CIFAS noted that mortgage application fraud has always involved falsification of documents, typically payslips, so as to make the applicant appear to be drawing a higher salary than he actually does.
“CIFAS’s report is a timely reminder that fraud continues to be a significant threat to the UK’s financial institutions and their customers,” said Nick Mothershaw, Director of Identity and Fraud services at Experian UK and Ireland.
“Its findings echo Experian’s fraud data which has shown big increases in mortgage and current account fraud attempts over the last year.”
“More than 90 percent of mortgage fraud tends to originate from genuine individuals misrepresenting their financial situations attempting to buy property that would ordinarily be out of reach,” he added.
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