Fraud rates of US car loans soaring

New York

BORROWER fraud in US car loans is surging, and may approach levels seen in mortgages during last decade's housing bubble, according to a startup firm that helps lenders sniff out bogus borrowers.

As many as one per cent of US car loan applications include some type of material misrepresentation, executives at data analytics firm Point Predictive estimated based on reports from banks, finance companies and others. Lenders' losses from deception may double this year to US$6 billion from 2015, the firm forecast.