Fighting Fraud in Multifamily: What Experian’s Experts Want Operators to Know

If you’d told most multifamily veterans ten years ago that fraud would become one of the hottest topics in the industry, they probably would’ve laughed.

But today? Any time there’s a session or webinar about fraud, the room is packed. Everyone from site teams all the way to management is feeling the pressure of bad actors slipping into their communities and their portfolios.

In a recent episode of Resident Experts, Kathleen Millay, Vice President of Fraud Analytics at Experian and Keir Braytonfield, Senior Vice President of Fraud Product & Marketing at Experian, shared their experience battling fraud from the frontlines.

Together, they brought a cross-industry, data-driven view of how fraud is evolving—and what multifamily can do about it.

Fraud is Evolving

The data isn’t subtle.

Kathleen referenced recent survey findings showing that:

• 71% of respondents said fraud activity has increased significantly in the last 12 months
• Many reported 25–40% higher fraud activity
• 93% have experienced fraud firsthand

In multifamily specifically:

• 84% have encountered falsified income or employment documentation
• 80% have seen applicants misrepresent their information on applications
• 70% have dealt with some form of identity theft

This data shows that fraud is no-longer an outlier, but something that nearly all businesses and individuals have experienced in some form.

And while we often talk about fraud in terms of dollars, Kathleen reminded us it’s a “double whammy”:

1. Owners and operators lose rent and incur damage (including physical damage when fraudulent residents skip out).
2. Innocent people are harmed when their identities are stolen or misused.

Why Old-School Screening Falls Short

Plenty of us remember the days when fraud checks meant “eyeballing pay stubs” and checking fonts on documents. But in today’s digital world, the eye test isn’t a reliable tool to combat fraud.

That doesn’t mean experience and intuition don’t matter, but it does mean:

• Fraudsters are using generative AI to create fake documents faster and more convincingly than ever.
• Manual review cannot keep pace with the volume and sophistication of those attempts.

The good news? Modern tools still work so long as they’re used consistently and strategically.

Multifamily’s Fraud Problem Looks a Lot Like Everyone Else’s

Keir works across financial services, ecommerce, public sector, and now housing. His take: the patterns look familiar.

The fraud foundations are the same across industries:

• Synthetic identities
• Manipulated real identities
• Fake documents
• Scams exploiting consumer behavior
• Bot and automated attacks at scale

What changes from sector to sector is how those tactics are applied.

• In banking, that might look like credit card or loan fraud.
  In ecommerce, it’s stolen credentials and chargebacks.
• In multifamily, it’s fraud kits, rental “how-to” guides, and organized groups gaming the leasing process.

The bottom line is multifamily is not an exception. It’s simply the newest high-value target on fraudsters’ list.

The New Fraud Toolbox: AI, Digital Signals, and Smart Orchestration

When asked about the most promising techniques for verifying identities quickly and accurately, Keir pointed to three big areas.

1. AI as a Force Multiplier (for Both Sides)

AI has been in fraud prevention for years, but generative and agentic AI have accelerated things dramatically. On the business side, AI helps:

• Build and iterate fraud analytics and scores faster
• Orchestrate next-best actions in real time
• Combine identity, behavioral, and device signals into smarter decisions

On the fraudster side, AI makes it easy to:

• Generate realistic fake documents
• Scale attacks across thousands of applications
• Automate social engineering and scams

It’s the classic “higher wall, higher ladder” dynamic, but now with more automation on both sides.

2. How People (and Bots) Behave Online

One of the biggest shifts since COVID has been the rise of digital engagement in every industry, including housing. That creates a rich data trail operators can use IF they have the right tools in place, including.

• Device intelligence (what device, what configuration, what history)
• Network intelligence (IP, geolocation, proxies, anomalies)
• Behavioral intelligence (how an application is filled out)
  
  

Kathleen shared a simple but powerful example:
Are they typing their name?
Are they using autofill?
Are they copying and pasting large blocks of unknown text?

Those micro-behaviors help distinguish:

• A real person on their own device
• Someone pasting in stolen or synthetic information
• A bot automating large volumes of applications
  
  

If the data points to “bot,” that changes your next move. You stop the process before wasting time and money on further checks.

3. Using the Right Tools at the Right Time

Most organizations now use up to eight different capabilities to open an account or approve an applicant, which is more than double what they used a decade ago.

That creates a new problem where businesses have too many tools, but not enough strategy.

Keir stressed the importance of orchestration in this scenario:

• Don’t just keep stacking new tools on top of old ones.
• Design workflows that sequence checks logically.
• Don’t send an expensive document check to someone you already know is a synthetic identity.
• Don’t add friction to obviously legitimate applicants.

Using Data and Analytics Earlier in the Leasing Journey

As anyone in operations knows: by the time a fraudulent resident has moved in and skipped out, it’s too late. Kathleen’s message was clear: we have to move fraud detection earlier in the funnel. That means:

• Screening for bots and high-risk behaviors at the application step
• Using velocity checks (e.g., how many identities share a phone number or email?)
• Combining behavioral, identity, and device signals into a single, well-designed strategy

And importantly, that strategy should be tailored to each operator’s processes and risk tolerance. A one-size-fits-all approach will not work.

Social Media, Side Hustles, and Fraud Kits: A New Reality

One of the most unsettling trends is how normalized fraud has become in some online spaces. Keir described it as “social-media-driven organized fraud” where:

• People learning how to game the system through TikTok, YouTube, and forums
• Fraud kits and rental packages being sold as “shortcuts” or “hacks”
• Ordinary consumers being drawn into fraud as a “side hustle”
  
  

Kathleen added that some influencers present these schemes as if they’re “helping” people. When in reality, they’re encouraging them to break the law.

That’s why ongoing education is critical. Properties should:

• Stay current on fraud trends in your sector and others
• Read industry reports and fraud updates at least quarterly
• Bring those learnings back to site teams and corporate leaders

Fraud tactics are evolving fast. Your awareness has to evolve with them.

Building a Fraud-Aware Culture Without Punishing Good Residents

Fraud prevention encompasses more than just what tools you’re using. Properties that want to be successful at mitigating fraud need to build fraud prevention into their culture as well. For operators trying to strike the right balance, Keir suggested a few guiding principles:

1. Start from a place of trust. Fraud is real and rising, but good applicants still represent the vast majority. Don’t design your entire process as if everyone is a criminal.
   
   
2. Educate your teams and your residents. Let prospects know the reasons why you need to verify their identity, which includes:
   
   
   
   • To protect their identity
   • To protect the community
   • To protect the integrity of the housing ecosystem
     
     
3. Be thoughtful about friction. Use step-up verification (like document checks or one-time passcodes) only where warranted by risk. They’re not needed for every single applicant.
   
   
4. Leverage tech to reduce wasted effort. If a bot is hitting your site, don’t waste staff time or dollars on downstream checks. Cut it off at the behavior or device level.
   
   

When done right, fraud prevention can actually enhance trust and experience, rather than undermine it.

The Next Frontier: Good Bots vs. Bad Bots

Looking ahead, both Kathleen and Keir pointed to AI agents  as the next big frontier. For example: 

• You’re walking past a building, and you ask your AI assistant about available units, and an agent handles outreach, scheduling, and application steps on your behalf.
  
  
• Behind the scenes, operators will increasingly interact with AI agents and bots acting for legitimate consumers, not just fraudsters.
  
  

The challenge presented is how do we distinguish good automated activity from malicious bots and fraud rings?

That’s where continuous tuning, analytics, and layered signals will become even more important. At the same time, the “old” fraud schemes aren’t going away. They’re just happening at higher volume. Operators will need defenses against both the new AI-driven risks and the classic schemes we already know.

Want the Full Story? Watch the Resident Experts Episode

Fraud now touches almost every aspect of your business, including revenue, resident experience, on-site morale, and even brand reputation.

The good news is: you’re not powerless against it. There are proven tools, strategies, and partners that can help you stay ahead of evolving fraud tactics while still delivering a great experience for your best residents.

Watch the full Resident Experts episode with Experian’s fraud leaders here.