New data suggests that fraud is rising in the car, credit card and mortgage industries, influenced by growing financial pressures on consumers and by fraudsters using bold schemes.
The report from Equifax Canada shows fraud in the automotive industry has surged 28 per cent year-on-year, while the credit cards have seen a jump of 37.9 per cent. The mortgage industry had a rise of 18.8 percent in fraud rates from a year ago.
If interest rates remain high, the trends in fraudulent activities could accelerate in the months ahead, said Carl Davies, head of fraud and identity at Equifax Canada.
The supply chain woes in the auto industry have also encouraged fraudsters and thieves to be more brazen in targeting car dealerships, along with identity fraud in applications, he said.
Davies said that auto theft rings are more cunning than ever in using convincing fake identification and that car dealerships should improve their verification processes to prevent fraud.
The report says fraudsters are using synthetic identity, which are a combination of real and fake information, making up for 68.5 percent of all fraudulent credit card applications.