In a guide to help mortgage advisers combat fraud, network Openwork  outlines the most common types of fraud and advice on spotting false occupation and earnings details backed up by fraudulent income evidence.

Openwork said other areas advisers should focus on include false applications for residential mortgages – where the client has no intention of living in a property but instead plans to rent it out – suspicious ‘below market value’ transactions; sale & rent back schemes; and deposit and mortgage advance fraud.

The case study-filled guide, titled ‘Mortgage Fraud And How To Avoid It’, aims to battle an issue costing the UK economy £1bn in 2012.

Paul Shearman, mortgage, protection and general insurance proposition director at Openwork, said: “Mortgage fraud is not only exceptionally costly to the UK economy, it can also threaten an adviser’s career if they fail to identify it in time.”

He added: “Our guide aims to help keep our advisers safe, offering comprehensive advice on how to spot mortgage fraud in all its various guises and explaining in detail how they can verify or prevent suspicious applications.”