Fraud

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Fraud is one of the most important issues within our industry. The National Apartment Association is committed to supporting operators. Learn more about what you can do to safeguard your organization. 

This page is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute, and should not be construed as, legal advice. This page is not intended to provide a mandatory standard of care for the industry. 

Apartment owners and operators are all too familiar with the effects that identity fraud can have on their business, but not all instances of the problem are the same. In fact, of the four types of identity fraud commonly encountered in the rental housing industry, synthetic fraud—in which all information about the applicant is fabricated, combining real and fake information to create a new identity—is the fastest-growing, accounting for an estimated 85 percent of all identity fraud in the country.

Four Types of Identity Fraud

Though we’ll focus solely on synthetic fraud in this guide, property managers can expect to encounter the following four types of identity fraud.

First-Person Fraud

The applicant is acting for another person when renting an apartment. The applicant uses their real identity information on the application but isn’t the person who’ll be residing in the apartment. The applicant in this instance could be a family member, a friend, or someone renting for short-term rental purposes such as Airbnb lodging.

Third-Party Fraud

The applicant assumes a stolen identity and uses the victim’s personally identifiable information (PII), including name, Social Security number (SSN), and date of birth.

Identity-Manipulation Fraud

The applicant alters some of their own identifying information in a way that looks as if it could be a typo or spelling error. Common examples include an SSN that’s off by one number or includes transposed numbers, a slightly different name, or an altered birthdate.

Synthetic Fraud

The applicant creates a fake identity by fabricating all identifying information (SSN, name, date of birth), cobbling together an identity from multiple stolen sources, or doing a mix of both. Real SSNs, typically from children, the elderly or deceased people, are often used in combination with made-up names and birthdates, but even the SSN can be fabricated.