Fraud for Rent
Credit Card Fraud is something that consumers worldwide must deal with daily. In 2018 alone, $24.6 billion was lost due to payment card fraud around the world. As the pandemic continues to affect the way we do business, a new wave of fraudsters is appearing in the form of fraudulent tenant applications.
In fraud cases that are related to faking the identity of the tenant, fraudsters often use someone else’s drivers license, social security number or even inventing a new identity from scratch. The concept of inventing an entirely new fake identity is known as synthetic fraud. This involves creating a credit profile for someone who does not exist and then using it to buy products using these fake accounts. They do the same for renting a home.
Since the pandemic began, it’s been said that the frequency of actual fraud incidents has jumped by 50%. As for phony tenant applications, a large portion of them were able to go undetected. Allowing these people to get access to an apartment home, use it as a drop zone for what they buy and then ditch the place in the middle of the night when things get sticky.
This has caused a new major worry for landlords and creditors alike. There are already thousands of tenants behind on their payments because of the pandemic and this is just another problem our society must deal with as cash and employment becomes harder to come by.
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.
