(25 September 2020 – United States) Over the past four weeks, the United States’ (US) mainstream banks and credit unions have reported soaring levels of suspected business loan fraud. In total, financial institutions in the US have filed over 1900 cases of suspicious activity involving business loans within the space of a month.
Although the statistics do not explain the reasons for the increase in fraud, many have related it with the number of applications for the US government’s disaster recovery loan programme. In many cases, financial institutions have found individuals with no links to businesses obtaining disaster loan aid in their personal accounts.
“In such unprecedented times, it is time for financial institutions to protect themselves against the surge in fraudulent activity. Technology and automation are the main components required for institutions to equip themselves against further incidents” commented East & Partners Europe Market Analyst, Pierre Sokoya.