Reported mortgage fraud rose by 2% in the first half of 2010, with losses quadrupling for lenders, and helping to take the total level of fraud in the UK over the £1bn barrier for the first time ever at the beginning of the year.
And the mortgage fraud consultants say more needs to be done to tackle high frequency, low profile, soft mortgage fraud which is costing lenders millions.
Beverley Houlbrook, fraud consultant at CoreLogic Solutions, says more than 6,500 of the repossessions recorded by the Council of Mortgage Lenders in the second quarter of 2010 will have had inaccurate information on the original mortgage application.
She said: “Although consumers are committing mortgage fraud while telling what they believe to be harmless white lies, this fact seems to be regularly overlooked by applicants, and although lenders check income and affordability, cases are still slipping through the net.”
