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Fraud: Mortgage fraud in the UK on the rise

The analysis from bridging lender Apex Bridging revealed that mortgage-related fraud has increased by 32.8% in the past year.

There was an overall total of 1.1 million cases of fraud between April 2022 and March 2023, a number which is 15.3% higher than the previous twelve months.

One common type of fraud is identity theft and impersonation, in which a criminal will steal a person’s identity, often through the use of fake or stolen ID, and then use that false identity to sell, mortgage, or remortgage someone else’s property before running off with the large sums of cash they receive as a result.

Stolen identity can also result in the title deeds of a property being changed, essentially enabling a criminal to put the property in their own name or that of a co-conspirator.

Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of Apex Bridging, said: “There is so much money involved with property that it’s difficult for career criminals and chances alike to resist.

“Whether they’re stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds through mortgage fraud, or a few hundred quid through rental fraud, it’s rife, and cases are rising.

“Property owners and professionals alike need to do all they can to mitigate the risk of property fraud.

“That means dealing only with respected and trustworthy organisations and service providers and being aware of any red flags.

“Criminals often succeed because honest people lack caution and due diligence. Here at Apex Bridging, we undertake vigorous ID checks to protect our business and our borrowers but everyone needs to play their part to make it as hard as humanly possible for these crooks to succeed.”

Apex Bridging analysed the number of fraud and computer misuse offences in England & Wales recorded by Action Fraud or referred to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) between April 2022 and March 2023 and looked at how these numbers compare to the 12 months previous.

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