14 March 2008
There has been a rise in fraud noted among those applying for current accounts and other financial products, according to Cifas, the UK fraud prevention service.
Opening current accounts, applying for credit cards and taking out mortgages were the most common areas for fraudulent activity, it said.
The number of cases of application fraud increased from 62,000 in 2004 to 77,000 in 2007, according to the Cifas' data.
In addition, it found that the average age of people lying on applications was getting younger.
Kate Beddington-Broan, Cifas head of communications, said that the findings indicate "some deep-seated socio-economic problems".
"With the increasing number of people lying to hide a poor credit history, and the fact that the age of application fraudsters is decreasing year on year, it is clear that people are getting into financial difficulties and turning to fraud earlier," she stated.
The findings come after a report from Apacs, the UK's payments association, discovered that credit card losses due to fraud rose during 2006.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
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