Brits considering carrying out a mortgage review might be pleased by recent calls for lenders to be continually vigilant about home loans fraud.
According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), banks and building societies need to be one step ahead of criminals by keeping up to date with the new methods of making fraudulent applications.
CML spokesman Bernard Clarke explained that vigilance is the key word, adding that lenders cannot afford to rest on their laurels.
“Once you have set up what you think are adequate protections, criminals will try to work their way around them, so lenders need to continue to give a high priority to this and continue to review their protection against it,” he said.
The expert added that lenders should work with other bodies, including the Financial Services Authority (FSA), to create a pool of knowledge and resources to help fight against fraudulent applications.
A recent FSA statement revealed that Lewis Partnership had been fined £106,499 for mortgage fraud offences.