Credit card application fraud rose by 18% in the last quarter of 2022, with fraudsters looking to take advantage of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and take out credit and borrowing in an account holder’s name.
The rise means the overall fraud rate for 2022 was the highest yearly rate recorded by Experian in the last 10 years, indicating the scale of the problem for both consumers and financial services firms looking to identify and prevent fraudulent activity.
When looking at loans, fraud in this space has more than doubled over the last two years, with the rate in Q4 among the highest seen in the last three years.
First-party fraud – where an individual gives false information or misrepresents their identity to access a product on more favourable terms, with no intention of paying it back – now accounts for 27% of all applications.
“Our latest figures show the scale of the fraud epidemic facing consumers and financial services companies,” said Eduardo Castro, Managing Director of Identity and Fraud, Experian UK&I. “The rise in first-party fraud is also striking, as it suggests that households are misrepresenting their financial situation to meet additional costs or cover everyday expenditure.”
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