The Society of Mortgage Professionals (SMP) has urged brokers concerned that a customer is attempting to commit mortgage application fraud to “under no circumstances” submit the proposal to a lender.
 
The latest good practice guide from the SMP outlined the current methods of mortgage fraud and shared hints with brokers on how to spot and prevent criminal deception.
 
The guide explains that most mortgage application fraud seen today is what the SMP termed as “fraud for housing”, where applicants will either fabricate, embellish or conceal elements of their personal circumstances in order to obtain a mortgage loan.
 
Often in these scenarios, the guide stated that lending will not be affordable or across the term of the mortgage advance, and noted that some customers may experience financial difficulty in the future.
 
To ensure mortgage brokers are preventing fraud, the SMP recommends following the firm’s internal procedure if fraud is suspected, and obtaining advice on how to complete and send a Suspicious Activity Report.
 
“We all have a collective responsibility to combat fraud and financial crime in the sector,” commented SMP chair, David Thomas.
 
“With continuously new and emerging technologies changing the way we do business in the mortgage profession, the methods of fraud are constantly changing, too. As such, mortgage professionals need to keep abreast of these changes to protect the ability of the profession to keep serving society, and enabling people to become homeowners.”

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