Attempted fraud in the financial industry has risen sharply since the start of the cost of living crisis began in late 2021.

Homeppl, one of the leading fraud prevention providers has confirmed this week that 91% of the fraud they flag in applications stems from applicants attempting to conceal their true financial status by modifying original financial documents or creating completely fake ones.

Research conducted by the service provider shows that on average it can cost around £44,000 to lenders who provide financial access to risky consumers. This includes legal fees, damages, and recovery costs. When combined with the lost value of a fraudulent contract, this can be financially detrimental to both the lender and the consumer.

Alexander Siedes, CEO and Founder at Homeppl, commented:

“We’re in the middle of an economic crisis where demand for loans is high, rent prices are high, the cost of goods and services and gas is high and because of that, we have seen people falsify their financial applications to secure financial access to loans and credit in a difficult market.”

Homeppl has recently launched its new product “Fraud Finder”; an API that can be licensed out to financial institutions, as well as fintech companies, to detect document fraud in their applications. The tool authenticates genuine financial documents such as bank statements, pension statements, investment portfolios and utility bills and conducts a series of fraud tests to signal any modifications, sending decisions back in seconds. Homeppl has found that up to 10% of consumer applications can contain fraud.

“We are proud to release a product that not only protects lenders from financial loss, and companies from reputational harm, but also to save consumers from defaulting on their loans by highlighting their true financial history.” Siedes said.

Homeppl states they will always provide the reason as to why a fraud test returned positive.