The vast majority of those conducting Right To Rent checks are unable to identify a fake passport if it is presented to them, according to a new survey.

In a study conducted by Atomik Research for HooYu, an identity security firm, some 1,013 people were asked to identify if a passport was real or fake. The results showed that 68 per cent of the time people were unable to correctly identify a fake passport.

Property businesses that previously relied on individual agents’ or landlords’ judgement when checking ID documents can no longer do so because of the improving quality of fake passports in particular, the research claims. 

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau revealed that in the UK last year some three million victims handed over a record £5.4 billion to fraudsters assuming fake identities, many using passports.