Wednesday, August 15, 2007
How Can I Avoid Becoming an ID Fraud Victim? Special Tips for Landlords
Unfortunately, identity theft is a rapidly expanding area of criminality and landlords are a target. A bad tenant can easily steal a landlord’s identity. Also, there is a risk that you could let to someone who is actually using a false identity – someone who will probably pay no rent and be very hard to evict.
All the fraudster needs to do to take out loans or cards in someone else’s name is to get two utility bills. This is easy where personal mail is delivered to an address after the previous residents or the landlord has left. In fact, anyone is vulnerable to this kind of fraud if their post is left in communal areas.
Apart from using the post to get personal details, fraudsters also search bins or pick up information from street surveys or from the Internet.
In a recent extreme case a landlady rented out her own home to a tenant. She left some of her personal documents including title deeds to her house locked away in a room in the house. The tenant used these to impersonate her and tried to sell her property.
In this case, it also turned out that the tenant had actually used a false identity to pass a basic reference check to get into the property in the first place.
To avoid letting to someone using a false identity, ask each tenant to complete and sign a tenancy application form. This should contain a statement giving permission to carry out credit checks and seek references from employers and previous landlords. The more information collected on the form the better, because should the tenant abscond, it gives vital tracing information.
Check references carefully and call to verify them. Don’t assume the company they say they work for really exists. Anyone can mock up a convincing letterhead! Check with Companies House and on the web.
Ask to see recent utility bills, mobile phone bills and bank statements. Recent bank statements for that person’s current account will prove whether salary is being paid in and acts as an additional check on the employer’s reference.
Also insist on seeing an official original document proving the person’s identity. However, be aware that even official documents like passports can be fraudulent and how can you be sure that the person on that old passport is really the same one that stands in front of you?
Experienced landlords say one way around this is to ask to see the tenant’s last 4 months of bank statements because whilst the odd bank statement can go missing, it’s less likely that an ID fraudster can obtain 4 months of another person’s statements.
Never delegate referencing entirely to an agent. Check that they are doing proper reference checks for you because I know of many landlords who got their “tenant from hell” through a letting agent.
Make sure that your agent calls the person who gave the reference to check what was said because sometimes when you speak to the referee they are not as glowing about the tenant as they were in writing. If in doubt whether the agent did this; do it yourself anyway. A good honest prospective tenant won’t mind being checked out in this way.
In summary, if you use a robust referencing system, you will almost certainly avoid letting to ID fraudsters. They know that they can’t provide the documentation required and will seek a more gullible landlord elsewhere.
My top tips to Avoid Becoming a Victim of ID Fraud are as follows:
1. Check your bank and card statements carefully. Look out for transactions you don’t recognise. 2. Shred unwanted personal documents containing your name and address.
3. Don’t use obvious passwords, like your partner’s first name.
4. When moving, give utility suppliers, banks and the Council Tax people your new address and insist they send all post there. Tell your old tenants to do the same. Use the Royal Mail’s redirection service.
5. When looking for new tenants do a thorough reference check.
6. Anti fraud organisation CIFAS has more advice on how to avoid ID fraud. See www.cifas.org.uk
To find out more about referencing tenants or any other aspect of buy to let and property investment ask me. I’m David Lawrenson from property investment consultancy Letting Focus. I’m the author of “Successful Property Letting – How to Make Money in Buy to Let” the UK’s top selling buy to let book.
I’m a speaker, I contribute to newspapers and a host of property websites, write a property investment blog and am a media commentator on the residential property market.
You can read more of my property investment expert insights and details of my networking, advice, property seminar programme and property consulting at my website www.lettingfocus.com.
My next London seminar is on 10th September and I am also speaking at the property investors show in London on 22nd September. I will also be a panellist at a debate in the afternoon at the show. Details here:
http://www.propertyinvestor.co.uk/london/seminar.asp
What’s unique about lettingfocus.com is that we are unbiased and independent, because unlike most people in the buy to let and property “advice” business we are not linked to a property company, developer, agent or bridging loan financier and do not receive commissions from any of these sources.
All the fraudster needs to do to take out loans or cards in someone else’s name is to get two utility bills. This is easy where personal mail is delivered to an address after the previous residents or the landlord has left. In fact, anyone is vulnerable to this kind of fraud if their post is left in communal areas.
Apart from using the post to get personal details, fraudsters also search bins or pick up information from street surveys or from the Internet.
In a recent extreme case a landlady rented out her own home to a tenant. She left some of her personal documents including title deeds to her house locked away in a room in the house. The tenant used these to impersonate her and tried to sell her property.
In this case, it also turned out that the tenant had actually used a false identity to pass a basic reference check to get into the property in the first place.
To avoid letting to someone using a false identity, ask each tenant to complete and sign a tenancy application form. This should contain a statement giving permission to carry out credit checks and seek references from employers and previous landlords. The more information collected on the form the better, because should the tenant abscond, it gives vital tracing information.
Check references carefully and call to verify them. Don’t assume the company they say they work for really exists. Anyone can mock up a convincing letterhead! Check with Companies House and on the web.
Ask to see recent utility bills, mobile phone bills and bank statements. Recent bank statements for that person’s current account will prove whether salary is being paid in and acts as an additional check on the employer’s reference.
Also insist on seeing an official original document proving the person’s identity. However, be aware that even official documents like passports can be fraudulent and how can you be sure that the person on that old passport is really the same one that stands in front of you?
Experienced landlords say one way around this is to ask to see the tenant’s last 4 months of bank statements because whilst the odd bank statement can go missing, it’s less likely that an ID fraudster can obtain 4 months of another person’s statements.
Never delegate referencing entirely to an agent. Check that they are doing proper reference checks for you because I know of many landlords who got their “tenant from hell” through a letting agent.
Make sure that your agent calls the person who gave the reference to check what was said because sometimes when you speak to the referee they are not as glowing about the tenant as they were in writing. If in doubt whether the agent did this; do it yourself anyway. A good honest prospective tenant won’t mind being checked out in this way.
In summary, if you use a robust referencing system, you will almost certainly avoid letting to ID fraudsters. They know that they can’t provide the documentation required and will seek a more gullible landlord elsewhere.
My top tips to Avoid Becoming a Victim of ID Fraud are as follows:
1. Check your bank and card statements carefully. Look out for transactions you don’t recognise. 2. Shred unwanted personal documents containing your name and address.
3. Don’t use obvious passwords, like your partner’s first name.
4. When moving, give utility suppliers, banks and the Council Tax people your new address and insist they send all post there. Tell your old tenants to do the same. Use the Royal Mail’s redirection service.
5. When looking for new tenants do a thorough reference check.
6. Anti fraud organisation CIFAS has more advice on how to avoid ID fraud. See www.cifas.org.uk
To find out more about referencing tenants or any other aspect of buy to let and property investment ask me. I’m David Lawrenson from property investment consultancy Letting Focus. I’m the author of “Successful Property Letting – How to Make Money in Buy to Let” the UK’s top selling buy to let book.
I’m a speaker, I contribute to newspapers and a host of property websites, write a property investment blog and am a media commentator on the residential property market.
You can read more of my property investment expert insights and details of my networking, advice, property seminar programme and property consulting at my website www.lettingfocus.com.
My next London seminar is on 10th September and I am also speaking at the property investors show in London on 22nd September. I will also be a panellist at a debate in the afternoon at the show. Details here:
http://www.propertyinvestor.co.uk/london/seminar.asp
What’s unique about lettingfocus.com is that we are unbiased and independent, because unlike most people in the buy to let and property “advice” business we are not linked to a property company, developer, agent or bridging loan financier and do not receive commissions from any of these sources.
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