A study of more than 600,000 tenancy applications found there has been a massive increase of 140 per cent of fake applications in 2023.

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A PropTech supplier’s research found that payslip fraud was the most common scam used by potential tenants attempting to ‘trick’ referencing systems.

The supplier used a sample size of over 300,000 tenancy applications in 2022 which was compared with 300,000 applications in 2023.

The analysis shows that in 2022 there was on average 1.2 cases of fraud out of 1000 applications whereas in 2023 it shot up to 2.9 cases in every 1000 applications – 140 per cent year on year rise.

The most favoured scam is payslip fraud where prospective tenants will either vastly ‘enhance’ how much  income they receive or edit its source by changing a firm’s name using high end photoshopping tools or just using simple basic editing software.

Over the last year frauds/scams discovered included falsifying passport photos, ‘enhancing’ bank statements, providing fake references, and stating they are employed by companies that do not exist.

In 2023 alone, pay slip scams was the highest method of fraud – 58 per cent - that the PropTech supplier caught out and just one of could lose an agent a landlord business relationship worth as much as £10,000

In spite of the majority of applications being 100 per cent honest , the massive increase of fraud during 2023 stresses the importance of tougher safeguards to counter rental fraud.

A spokesperson for the referencing department of the firm ,says: “Fraud can come in many forms. In some instances, tenants who are desperate to secure a property  think bumping up their salary will help seal the deal.

“Given the current pressures on the housing market, it’s understandable as to why we’re seeing a rise in this type of fraud. However, this is inadvisable as you could end up on the National Fraud Database, impacting future job prospects and other life events such as securing loans.

“And, of course, there is also a much darker side to fraud, such as criminals using false IDs to secure properties, or people who are looking to sign tenancies using forged documents.

“As the tools used to commit fraud grow more sophisticated and personal information is increasingly digitised, it’s vital that landlords and agents can access the cutting-edge technology designed to fight back - ones that can protect them and ensure they can let their properties out in good faith.“