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Consumers `should avoid lying on mortgage applications`
15/07/2009
People should resist any temptations to lie on their mortgage applications, an expert has said.
According to Neil Munroe, external affairs director at Equifax, the stricter lending criteria being imposed by banks and building societies during the credit crunch have led many consumers to "bend the truth".
This is inadvisable, he warned, as it could lead to future difficulties in securing credit.
He stated: "On past occasions, when there is financial hardship you do get more fraud. It is probably what we call first person fraud, in the sense that it is during applications that people are manipulating the information they put down."
During previous times of economic strife, fraud has risen in other areas of credit as well as mortgages, Mr Munroe suggested.
Earlier this year, KPMG reported that the value of mortgage fraud in the UK during 2008 stood at £36 million, compared with £3.7 million in 2007.
