Mortgage-related fraud has increased by 32.8 per cent over the past year, research from Apex Bridging has revealed.
The research found this rise represented the second-highest increase of all banking and credit industry fraud.
Apex Bridging managing director, Chris Hodgkinson, commented: “There is so much money involved with property that it’s difficult for career-criminals and chancers 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 on the rise.”
However, the research added that, relatively speaking, the total number of identified cases (1,723) makes it the second-rarest form of banking and credit industry fraud, accounting for just 0.2 per cent of total cases within the sector.
Apex Bridging explained that mortgage fraud is a common type of property fraud in which criminals seek to steal money from a financial institution or private lender through the mortgage process.
Total cases
The research also suggested that this rise in property-related fraud has been a “central contributor” to the increase in overall fraud cases.
It explained there were 1.1mn cases of fraud between April 2022 and March 2023, an increase of 15.3 per cent on the previous 12 months.
Another common form of property fraud that was said to have contributed to the increase is rental fraud, in which would-be tenants are tricked into paying an upfront fee to rent a property that, more often than not, doesn’t exist.
Rental fraud
Rental fraud saw a smaller annual increase (5.1 per cent) than mortgage fraud, but remains “far more prominent” with 5,098 reported cases across the year.
This figure also makes it the third-most frequent form of advance fee payment fraud, accounting for 11.2 per cent of all cases.
Hodgkinson added: “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 awake to any red flags.
“Criminals often succeed because honest people lack caution and due diligence.”
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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