A huge 25.23% increase in Fraud during October as the economic crisis worsens in the UK
Halloween was not the only subject of spooky behaviour to take place this October. Homeppl noted a rise in tenancy fraud attempts of over 25%. There is often a ‘summer peak’ in the rental industry in which tenants tend to move into new properties during the warmer months of the year, which makes this huge jump even more alarming for letting agents and landlords.
There is no doubt that this increase comes as a result of the current cost of living crisis. In times of economic struggle, fraud tends to increase. Preparations to cloak their real risk and affordability profile for property are in full swing.
The total rental contract value saved to Homeppl’s clients last month was a whopping £1,202,458... 25% up on the previous fraud caught in September.
UK Fraudster Profile for October
We’ve taken the decision to provide letting agents with a more accurate fraudster profile on a monthly basis to increase the education and protection around this ever-growing threat:
East London is the current epicentre of tenancy fraud!
In September, London only accounted for 71% of tenancy fraud in the UK however in October that has risen sharply to 96%.
Last month, North West London was the most affected area of London and accounted for 33% of the fraud cases. However, as you can see, East London represents 60.9% of all cases in London. A very stark warning to letting agents who primarily operate in this area!
What else has changed from last month?
Well, last month, 53% of the fraudsters we flagged were men and 47% were women. In October, 80% were men and 20% were women. The average claimed income has shot up from £54,000 to £95,000. Average age and proportion of UK residents who were flagged as fraudulent has not really changed.
Repeat Offenders
One extremely alarming statistic from October is the rate of repeat fraudsters we have had attempt to defraud our clients this month. A staggering 24% of the cases we’ve flagged in October have been 2nd attempts at fraudulently securing rental agreements from one or more of our clients.
Homeppl is the leading fraud detection technology provider in the UK rental market and has built an extensive database of fraudsters. These are instantly flagged when they try to apply for further rental agreements with any of our clients as a risk.
Fraud Spotlight
For this month’s spotlight we examine the bank statement of a fraud who if approved, would have put their landlord at financial risk to the tune of £156,000 in rental contract value.
To the human eye, this bank statement seems very believable:
It’s only when it's been run through our font detection test you can see the incredibly heavy edits made to the numbers as well as the transaction information. Many of the major banks have protected font types that online editors can only try and imitate. This is just one of 150+ fraud detection tests we run on every single applicant. You won’t fool us.
Test Fraud Finder, our new document analysis & financial data analysis tool
Fraud Finder, Homeppl's latest product, conducts intelligent document analysis by extracting & analysing financial data whilst flagging fraud in financial documents. It assesses affordability, underwrites risk, detects fraud and qualifies your customers.
We are exposing our industry-leading fraud technology and can be used by letting agents, real estate agents, mortgage brokers and anybody who assesses documents for an application. It can also be used to augment KYC checks that rely solely on ID verification.
Check a bank statement, check 10.. try it for free now...
