Wealthy city dwellers with high status jobs are seeing the biggest increase in ID theft related to mortgage fraud.
According to the latest Experian Fraud Index, people living in high value properties in the centre of cities with high status jobs now account for 10.3% of all ID fraud in mortgages, compared to 7.3% last year.
The most targeted are those settled extended families living in multicultural city suburbs, accounting for 22.6% of all ID fraud in mortgages.
Nick Mothershaw, fraud expert from Experian, said: “Unfortunately fraudsters are very canny, and they either go for the easiest targets or the biggest potential wins. If they can find a way through the fraud defences, or manage to coerce professionals involved in the mortgage process, the pickings are rich.”
The study revealed that mortgage fraud fell slightly to 63 in 10,000 applications, significantly lower than the average of 81 per 10,000 over the last three years.
This was mainly driven by a fall in first party fraud, where individuals may misrepresent themselves on their mortgage applications.
There was an increase in third party mortgage fraud, from 4% of all fraudulent applications to 5%. This is significant because the sums involved are much higher than most other fraud cases.
Mothershaw said: “Any transaction a person makes, whether it’s transferring money between accounts, or buying a new TV, could be subject to fraud. Fraud will continue to evolve as fraudsters seek the greatest benefits for the least risks. While organisations are doing what they can to be fraud resilient, understanding who among their customers is being targeted most and taking steps to make them more aware is also vital.”
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