Applicant fraud continues to scale across the multifamily industry, with artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled editing tools and mass-producing template farms aiding bad actors.
The applicant trust platform Snappt analyzed nearly 1.5 million applicant submissions and found nearly 87,000 edited applications, resulting in an average fraud rate of 5.1% last year. While the average fraud rate is down from 6.4% in 2024, Snappt noted it doesn’t necessarily indicate a reduction in fraud pressure. Instead, the decreased rate reflects the effectiveness of fraud detection and prevention.
“Applicants have unprecedented access to tools and services that can produce convincing fraudulent documents quickly and at minimal cost,” said CEO James Hyde. “Without strong verification in place, property owners and operators are left highly vulnerable and often unaware that fraud is slipping through their screening processes.”
Here are five takeaways from the 2026 Snappt Multifamily Fraud Report:
- Template farms were the most dominant fraud method, comprising over 42,600 cases. PDF editing and advanced fraud rings followed with 28,520 and 23,130 cases, respectively;
- Synthetic identity fraud, which combines real and fake information to create a new person, increased by 311% in North America year over year in the first quarter of 2025. Over 80% of new account fraud is attributed to synthetic identity fraud;
- Paystubs, bank statements, cash app statements, and investment accounts were the document types with the highest fraud rates;
- Dallas ranked No. 1 for the top cities with the highest fraud rates in 2025 at 8.8%, followed by Glendale, California, and Fort Worth, Texas, coming in above 8%; and
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia, and Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, Texas, topped the fraud list for metro areas last year at 7.3%. In 2024, Memphis, Tennessee, and Mobile, Alabama, topped the list with rates of 14.4% and 13.5%, respectively.