Friday, July 06, 2012
Finance fraud down by 27%
The number of car finance fraud cases dropped by 27% year-on-year in the opening quarter of 2012, according to the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA).
The 169 cases recorded amounted to £2.4m of outstanding finance on cars in Q1 2012, with lenders and dealers also preventing 1,687 attempted fraudulent applications, saving the industry around £20m.
The most common form of fraud, accounting for 63 Q1 cases, was first-party fraud, involving misuse of a credit account, including hiring out a car for profit or applying for credit on behalf of another person without informing the finance company.
Conversion fraud – selling on a car with outstanding finance – was second with 58 cases, while there were 36 cases of fraudulent finance applications.
FLA head of motor finance Paul Harrison commended “the rigorous application of lending criteria by finance companies and the use of the array of anti-fraud tools” to combat fraud in the sector.
DATED: 06.07.12
FEED: MF
