Mortgage fraud levels up to £700 million a year
According to police authority officials the level of mortgage fraud in the UK has rocketed to £700 million a year, and is an industry that is continuing to grow and attract the attention of organised criminals. This information has come from the Association of Chief Police Officers, which is calling for a specialist team to be put together to deal with the issue of mortgage related fraud. However, the £700 million figure is disputed by the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders has stated that whilst it welcomes the idea of police officers receiving training to help them to identify and tackle mortgage fraud there is no way of putting a figure on the level of mortgage fraud. The police have said that this type of fraud has become a huge and growing problem, with criminals able to make a lot of money from it. Authorities want a specialist team that could deal with matters such as false valuations and applications involved in mortgage relate fraud.
Police have said that in general fraud has become a crime that is second only to drug trafficking in terms of the amount that it is costing the country, adding that total fraud costs are around £20 billion a year. The City of London Police force is already recruiting for a new fraud squad, which will be involved in work across the country, assisting in fraud investigations, providing training to public and private investigators, and offering fraud prevention advice.
Police officials have added that the huge costs relating to fraud have come about due to the cost of investigations and prevention, the value of lost revenue, and the value of stolen assets.
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