Nearly half (48%) of adults believe it is ‘reasonable’ to commit first-party fraud, according to a report by UK fraud prevention service Cifas.

The organisation warns that first-party fraud – when someone knowingly misrepresents their identity or provides false information for financial or material gain – is on the rise. Examples include exaggerating salaries on mortgage applications, ordering goods online and falsely claiming they have not been delivered to obtain a refund, or agreeing to use their bank account to transfer illicit funds (money muling).

Cifas’ latest Fraud Behaviours Survey presented 2,000 UK adults with 10 different first-party fraud scenarios. Respondents were asked if they thought the actions described were reasonable or unreasonable, legal or illegal, and whether they themselves had done the same, or knew someone who had, over the last 12 months.

Among the most common types of incidents, 19% considered retail non-delivery – falsely claiming an item of clothing had not been delivered, even if it had been worn, to obtain a refund – as acceptable. A similar amount (18%) was comfortable with falsifying CV or job application qualifications in order to secure a job, while 16% felt that single person discount fraud to obtain a reduced council tax bill was reasonable.

Nearly a quarter (23%) of respondents said that selling a car on a hire purchase agreement and continuing to make repayments to the finance company after it was sold – known as asset conversion fraud – was the ‘most reasonable’ type of first-party fraud ahead of money muling (17%).

Alarmingly, over a third of individuals (36%) did not regard asset conversion fraud as illegal. Similarly, more than 1 in 5 people (22%) thought that money muling was legal, and 19% believed the same for mobile phone insurance fraud.

Mike Haley, CEO of Cifas, said: “First-party fraud is too often seen as a victimless crime. But the truth is very different. It is a growing threat and causes significant harm to individuals, businesses, and communities, and can result in severe repercussions for perpetrators.
“It is only through effective, cross-sector collaboration and education that we can collectively improve public awareness and ensure consumers have a greater understanding of the true dangers of first-party fraud and its lasting impact.”

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