PropTech firm launches new products claiming to combat rental fraud

PropTech company Homeppl has launched two products that it calls “revolutionary fraud detection tools” for letting agents.

One of the two technologies - a document analysis tool - enables agents to screen a renter by processing documentation analysed at a deeper level than existing screening technologies. This can allegedly detect fraud by spotting inconsistencies and nuances in the document’s typography and font styles, with fonts dissimilar to those used by banks flagging that the document has been tampered with.

The second product innovation is an alert for the rental screening process. By scanning a variety of different data points, it can determine an applicant’s legitimacy and recognises when a fraudster is committing rental fraud multiple times through various agencies.

Homeppl chief executive Alexander Siedes says: “It is no secret that the rental sector is a fast-moving and challenging landscape for agencies to manage today – couple this trend with an unprecedented volume of rental fraud – and it makes for a difficult space for both agencies and landlords to navigate.

“Through our [new tools] we are able to elevate our referencing technology with something created specifically to tackle today’s fraud challenges, an area that we have been dedicated to address to ensure our clients only approve the best, legitimate tenants. Additionally, our new document analysis tool ensures no documents that can be forged get past us, so our clients can benefit from the most robust solution they need to tackle increasing volumes of fraud.”

The PropTech entrepreneur says that over the last 12 to 18 months the UK rental sector has experienced seismic shifts, some of which have had an impact, directly and indirectly, on the rising levels of rental fraud. More recently, Homeppl has witnessed this trend first-hand, having detected a 100 per cent increase in rental fraud during Q4 2021 compared to the quarter prior.

This upward trend is being exacerbated by the growing sophistication in fraud which continues to evolve - not only are fraudsters doctoring identification and application documents, but are also using false websites, payslips and other digital materials to enhance their rental application.

Siedes concludes: “The growing volume of fraud is having a detrimental downstream impact on landlords and agencies at such an active time for the sector. These two new product developments offer our clients with additional peace of mind that their renters are being screened swiftly, accurately and with no risk that fraudsters will slip through the net. Ultimately, this means their time can be optimised by focusing on other critical business areas.”