Rise in criminals successfully targeting people looking to buy their first home

When Brits are polled on life’s most stressful experiences, buying a property tends to feature right at the top, and with good reason.

Finding a property you like can be difficult enough, before you go through the rigmarole of getting a mortgage in place, and moving all of your gear to the new place.

The trouble is that the stresses don’t end once you’re actually moved in either ‒ being a young homeowner means you’re likely to be a prime target for fraudsters too.

New data from credit experts Experian has identified a sharp jump in debit and credit card fraud so far this year, with case numbers up by 60% in the first six months of 2019 compared to the same period last year.

And it’s notable who the victims often are.

It found that frauds against young people who have bought their first homes in affordable suburbs by 35% over that same period, with card fraud against this group in particular jumping by an eye-watering 91%.

Targeting the mail

Experian suggested that the weakness here may come from people in these households having mailboxes which fraudsters are able to gain access to.

This isn’t an issue confined to homeowners of course ‒ one of the reasons young people are so often targeted by fraudsters is that they live in properties with communal mail areas.

Once fraudsters have the details they need to try to take out credit in your name, they can then look to intercept any post ‒ including the plastic card when it’s sent out ‒ before you see it. As a result victims can go a long time without realising that someone else is borrowing, and spending money, in their name.

If your post is being delivered somewhere that is potentially vulnerable to a scammer, then it’s important that you take steps to protect it, for example by installing a lockable, private post box.

Another big concern for new homeowners is where their old post ‒ which again could contain personal information useful to a scammer ‒ is ending up. While you may be diligent in shredding those letters from your bank, there’s nothing to say that any which are still delivered to your old address are being dealt with in the same way.

It’s vital then that as soon as you move house, you inform your bank and any other financial firms that you deal with of your new address. You should also set up a mail redirection with the Royal Mail to ensure it all goes to your new home ‒ you can then contact any firms still attempting to get you at your old address to bring them up to speed.

Data breaches

Experian also pointed out that some of these new homeowner victims are likely to have had their details stolen in data breaches, with scammers taking advantage by opening credit accounts in the victim’s name.

It’s worth noting that 2019 is on track to be the worst year on record for data breaches according to the Midyear Quickview Data Breach Report , with 4.1 billion record exposed already. That’s up by a massive 52% from last year, with three of the breaches taking place this year featuring in the ten largest breaches of all time.

It’s not just the big breaches that are a concern though. Every breach potentially exposes an individual’s details, whether that’s their email account and password or even their payment information.

And each time that happens, it increases the chances of a person’s identity being stolen, with dodgy accounts being opened in their name.

As soon as you think your details may have been at risk from a breach, it’s crucial that you change the details not only of the affected account, but also of your main email. Yes, constantly setting new passwords and the like is a pain but it’s still much more preferable than having to go through getting an account that was fraudulently opened in your name closed.

It’s also a good idea to keep an eye on your credit statement ‒ it will quickly show up on there if some dodgy applications have been made.

Young people recruited as money mules

It’s not just young homeowners that are being targeted by the scammers though ‒ young people are also increasingly being used as ‘money mules’, according to data from fraud experts Cifas .

This is where you are paid to accept money into your bank account, before then transferring that money elsewhere, and is a common tactic for crooks looking to launder the money made from their misdemeanours.

Cifas reckons there were almost 6,000 cases of people aged 14-18 using their bank accounts for money muling last year, up 20% from 2017.

It’s got so bad that a Don’t Be Fooled awareness campaign has now been launched, with police forces across the country visiting schools to warn parents and kids about money muling and the serious consequences if you’re caught.