Current account fraud rises on switch service
THE BANK account switching service has prompted a sharp rise in fraudulent applications, Experian said today.
In the last quarter of 2014, 79 of every 10,000 current account applications were fraudulent, Experian believes.
That is up from 69 cases in every 10,000 a year earlier.
It takes current account fraud to a level well above that seen in other financial products – across those measured by Experian, 50 in every 10,000 applications are fraudulent. That level itself is up from 40 cases a year earlier.
The worst-hit product remains mortgages, where 84 in 10,000 applications is fraudulent. However, that level is down from 87 at the end of 2013.
By contrast car finance fraud is far lower, at 30 cases in every 10,000 applications, as is card fraud, at 44 cases per 10,000.
Loan fraud is at the bottom of the heap, with 17 frauds per 10,000 cases – up from eight a year earlier, but still relatively low.
“It’s now 18 months on since the formal launch of seven-day current-account switching, helping pave the way for more than 1.2m switches, which may have prompted more fraudsters to test application systems,” said Experian’s Nick Mothershaw.