The rental housing industry must be prepared for fraud. According to a multifamily fraud report from TransUnion, 60% of property managers surveyed were victims of fraud within the past two years. And, one-third of communities didn't identify the scam until after move-in. A third also only uses manual tools to identify fraud.
Several items helped identify fraud. Proof of employment and verifying income were roughly the same at 36% and 35%, respectively, while fake paychecks were noticed by 30%.
Companies are also reporting financial impacts including having to spend working hours and more time identifying fraud. Property managers reported more evictions, increased bad debt and increased financial losses as the impacts of fraud.
Among the ways to mitigate risk is to have a multifactor authentification process.
Learn more about fraud and resources from the National Apartment Association.