**The Multifamily Fraud Problem and Combatting It: Q&A with 100’s Caren Maio**
According to the National Multifamily Housing Council, 93.3% of apartment owners and operators have encountered application, financial, or identity fraud. These deceptive practices not only drive up operating costs but often result in higher rents for honest tenants as the losses are offset.
Caren Maio, CEO and Co-Founder of 100 — a multifamily fraud prevention software platform — is at the forefront of addressing this growing challenge. She is also a founding member of the newly launched 100x alliance, an initiative uniting multifamily and technology experts to combat fraud in the housing sector.
In an interview with Connect CRE, Maio shed light on the current fraud landscape and shared insights on how the industry can respond.
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**Connect CRE: What is the definition of fraud?**
**Caren Maio:** In multifamily housing, fraud refers to deceptive tactics used to gain unauthorized access to rental properties, avoid financial responsibilities, or manipulate systems for personal gain. It includes a wide range of activities such as theft, falsified identification and documentation, and misrepresentation of financial or personal information.
But it’s more than a paperwork issue — it’s a trust issue. Tenants are deliberately misrepresenting themselves in order to game the system.
Fraud in this space isn’t new, but the scale and sophistication have grown significantly. What used to be isolated instances have morphed into a systemic threat. To put it in perspective, a single eviction linked to fraud can cost upwards of $25,000. Coupled with regulatory loopholes, financial pressures, and online communities that openly share tips on how to cheat the system, we now face a perfect storm.
Fraud has become one of the most costly and complex challenges for multifamily operators today — and it’s only getting worse.
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**Connect CRE: Why is this the case?**
**Caren Maio:** There are several contributing factors. Regulations limit how deeply applicants can be vetted. Economic strain post-COVID has left many desperate. Rental prices are rising faster than wages. And now, step-by-step tutorials on how to fake documents or identities are easily accessible via social media.
This is no longer just a property management issue — it’s an operational, financial, and reputational risk affecting every level of the business.
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**Connect CRE: What methods have been used to combat fraud in the past?**
**Caren Maio:** Historically, combating fraud has relied heavily on intuition. Leasing teams used gut instinct, paper documentation, and piecemeal tools never designed for today’s digital landscape. Over the past decade, standalone tools have emerged, but without a cohesive, industry-wide approach, these efforts haven’t made a significant impact. In short, you can’t tackle modern issues with outdated systems.
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**Connect CRE: Can fintech and AI help?**
**Caren Maio:** Definitely. Technology allows for scale, speed, and precision. Processes that once took hours can now be done in moments. AI can detect patterns that are invisible to humans and verify information in real time.
We can also borrow proven practices from other industries — biometric verification from aviation, dynamic risk modeling from finance, and tiered guest vetting from hospitality. The tools are out there; the key lies in implementation and collaboration across sectors.
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**Connect CRE: What else would you like to add on this topic?**
**Caren Maio:** The issue we’re facing isn’t a series of isolated events — it’s a coordinated, well-organized threat exploiting the fragmented nature of our industry. Every company fighting this battle alone creates vulnerabilities. Point solutions that don’t communicate with each other only add to the problem.
That’s why we launched the 100x alliance — to bring together thought leaders from multifamily housing, PropTech, FinTech, hospitality, and aviation. Our mission is to share intelligence, align on integrated solutions, and stay several steps ahead of fraudsters. If bad actors are working together, we must do the same — and move smarter and faster.
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*An earlier version of this interview appeared on ApartmentBuildings.com.*
