Renters are at risk from criminals taking advantage of the squeezed property market, a well-established letting agency in London has warned.

The latest insight from Benham and Reeves has revealed the uphill struggle facing many lettings agents, with the firm encountering forged IDs, digitally altered supporting documents and undeclared CCJs and IVAs on a monthly basis.

The problem is particularly rife in London’s fast paced rental market, owing in part to letting agents’ increasing reliance on digital screening to help lighten their workload, the company notes.

But whilst digital and AI technology has evolved rapidly and can process vast amounts of data in a timely fashion, rogue tenants have also evolved with it, becoming increasingly more inventive in how they trick the system.

Benham and Reeves believe that letting agents have to be savvy to overcome the risks involved with letting properties.

Last month, Benham and Reeves says it detected eight forged passports or IDs, 40 digitally altered bank statements, utility bills, payslips or proof of address, 50 forged employment references, as well as 30 undeclared county court judgements (CCJs) and individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs).

The director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented: “The lettings market has become a key target for fraudsters due to the illicit profits they can generate quickly and over a short period of time and nowhere more so than in London, where demand is high and rental values are at their highest.

“Landlords themselves must be on guard but even more so, it’s down to letting agents to provide that vital line of defence which simply can’t be upheld through technology alone.

“The reality is that some agents simply don’t do an adequate job

“Unfortunately, every agent does things differently and so landlords really need to be sure their agent is going the extra mile.

“For us that means strict digital ID verification but it also includes a manual check of all documentation, rigorous checks of employment references including domain names, registration details and IP addresses cross referenced with payslips and bank statements, an online search of the applicant including a review of their social media profiles, open-source tools and search engines, information sharing with the police and more.

“So whilst it’s inevitable that some crooks will slip through the net, this threat can be drastically reduced by taking a proactive approach to tenant verification and not leaving it technology alone.”