Criminals, fraudsters, tenants!

As demand for rental property continues to rise, so does the incidence of fraudulent tenants, costing landlords and agents thousands in lost rental income and legal fees. It is a growing and serious problem. Identity fraud has increased in recent years, in part due to the economic conditions, making it harder for people to gain access to credit in their own name. Some fraudulent applicants are persistent offenders and move from property to property, giving false referees or bogus addresses, with no intention of paying the rent, often within the same town. These ‘professional’ fraudsters know how to circumvent bad credit data and ensure that references provided on their behalf appear genuine in their authenticity. They often give false information on where they have been living to throw referencing companies and letting agents off the trail. They are difficult to evict as they often know their way round the legal system. Indeed, new research reveals that some towns and cities in the UK are much more at risk from identity fraud than others. A recent report shows that Slough has overtaken London to become the identity fraud centre of the UK. The Berkshire town recorded 25 identity fraud attempts for…