Mortgage applications have the highest rate of detected fraud, at 79 per 10,000 applications in August.
Research from Experian also found 96 per cent of that fraud was classed as first party, meaning the application was made by the genuine customer. This makes mortgages the sector where first-party fraud is most common.
The latest fraud data shows a significant rise in the detection of identity theft. Third party fraud, where a victim’s identity has been stolen by a third party, now accounts for 47 per cent of all fraud cases detected and prevented during the last year, up from 30 per cent in 2013.
Third party fraud was most common in applications for cards, savings and loans products, while first party fraud was most common in mortgage and automotive finance applications.
The last 12 months have seen a big rise in detected fraud cases, at 35 frauds per 10,000 applications in August, compared with just 24 cases detected per 10,000 applications in August 2013. This rate peaked in March 2014, with 43 out of every 10,000 applications detected as fraudulent.
Nick Mothershaw, UK&I director of Identity & Fraud at Experian says the figures show the industry is making good progress in its fight against fraud.
“The significant increase in detected and prevented third party fraud in particular shows how far providers have come in becoming wiser to the tricks of identity thieves, although recent high profile instances of data theft show that there is still much to be done.”
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