Financial fraud on the rise
April 25, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Banking
Financial fraud in the UK is growing with new statistics showing that the problem is far from going away.
CIFAS, the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service, has found that almost all types of financial fraud have increased in the country between 2006 and 2007.
Research by the organisation focuses on results from the first quarter of 2006 and the same period this year and it does not make for good reading.
According to CIFAS, application fraud, which sees people lying in order to obtain credit cards, loans, bank accounts or insurance, has increased by 21 per cent in the last 12 months.
Identity fraud is also on the rise, with cases increasing by 12 per cent and current address and previous address fraud are also growing.
“These quarterly figures show a worrying escalation in many types of financial fraud,” commented Peter Hurst, chief executive of CIFAS.
“The scale of fraudulent activity is alarming. It emphasises the need for businesses constantly to be alert when dealing with applications.”
Despite large growth in many areas, CIFAS says that it has been experiencing positive results in its bid to prevent fraud.
According to figures released by the organisation, fraud prevention activity saved organisations £94,000 per hour, compared to £74,000 per hour for the same period in 2006.
