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Big surge revealed in UK mortgage fraud

Friday, 9 December 2011 12:11 PM

Mortgage fraud increased dramatically in the three months to the end of September, according to Experian.

The information services company said 49 in every 10,000 mortgage applications in the quarter were found to be fraudulent, an increase of 77 per cent on the same period last year and 53 per cent on the second quarter.

Most of the fraud is likely to reflect home buyers exaggerating their income to afford a more expensive property.

Nick Mothershaw, director of identity and fraud at Experian UK and Ireland, comments: "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."

Experian's Fraud Index showed mortgages surging ahead of other forms of fraud. Some 30 in every 10,000 current account applications were fraudulent, which was 48 per cent up on last year but down 30 per cent.

In the automotive finance sector, 21 out of every 10,000 applications were fraudulent, down 49 per cent on last year and 12 per cent on the second quarter.

And savings account fraud was up 47 per cent on a year ago and 16 per cent on the second quarter.

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