According to the Justice Department, identity theft has been the top-ranked reported crime by consumers for the ninth consecutive year and has passed drug trafficking as the top crime in the nation. It's a threat mortgage lenders know all too well. Earlier this week, the Mortgage Asset Research Institute, in its 11th Periodic Mortgage Fraud Case Report to the Mortgage Bankers Association, said reported incidents of mortgage fraud increased by 26 percent in 2008 to unprecedented levels. And the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network reported last month that suspicious activity reports on mortgage fraud increased by more than 44 percent from 2007 to 2008.
MARI reported that “straw buyers” engaged in fraudulent activity represents an emerging trend in identity theft. Fraudsters have increasingly stolen identities of elderly people and immigrants, setting them up as straw buyers to commit mortgage fraud.
“Fraud can represent up to 5 percent of lost revenue,” said Heather Czermak, senior product manager with Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, Minneapolis. “The return on investment on fraud technology prevention can represent a 4:1 ratio in just the first year. The need for investment and the need for a controlled process is essential from a best-practices standpoint.”
“Because you deal with consumers every day, you know you have to deal with the identity theft issue,” said Terry Franzen, partner with Franzen and Salzano PC, Norcross, Ga. “You have to take stock of what is in your files—which are full of personal information—and take steps to ensure that the data are not compromised.”
One step is to determine who has access, as well as who should have access, Franzen said. “You have to go into your office with a jaundiced eye—kind of like being the bad guy—to see how easy it is to commit ID theft,” she said. “You need to train employees and contractors about safe information security practices.”
Franzen said financial institutions and consumers cannot be too careful when it comes to protecting identity. “I recently went to an FBI seminar, and the speaker said that everyone should shred all mail received at home,” she said. “All a thief needs is a magazine cover with your name and address.”
Mortgage lenders must comply by May 1 with the Identity Theft Red Flags Rule. By then, lenders must have a written plan in place for dealing with identity theft, not only in identifying specific red flags, but also assisting consumers who believe they have been a victim of identity theft.
“It's not a mystery about what a red flag is,” Franzen said. “It's those things that you need to have as part of your plan. And it should be a living, breathing document that gets reviewed and updated regularly.”
Failure to comply can result in stiff penalties, including a $2,500 fine for each knowing violation, cease and desist letters and Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practice Act violations, which can result in treble damages and attorney’s fees. “There really is no alternative to non-compliance,” Franzen said.
Donald Bundy, general counsel with Prospect Mortgage, Skokie, Ill., recently implemented a company identity theft prevention program. He said in 2008, the bank reported 120 cases of identity theft, of which 105 represented mortgage ID theft.
Initial steps are simple, such as getting the correct address and phone number of the alleged victim. “You have to make sure that you are making contact with the victim of the crime, and not the perpetrator,” Bundy said.
Another step involves informing the alleged victim that an investigator may be contacting them, as well as having them complete an ID theft package requesting more information and encouraging them to notify the police. “In some cases, they don't want to file a police report, because they know the perpetrator,” Bundy said. “At this point, you are protecting yourself as well as the alleged victim.”
All other legal actions, such as foreclosures and collections, must be suspended, Bundy said. “You don't open yourself up to further liability by further making them a victim,” he said. “If you further damage their credit, you further expose yourself to damages.”
Prospect's largest ID theft case involved a home equity line of credit account, in which the perpetrator stole nearly $725,000 to purchase two sports cars that were shipped to Nigeria. Prospect worked with Nigerian authorities to board the ship when it arrived in Lagos, only to discover that the ship made a stop elsewhere, where the cars were removed from the ship.
“It was a total loss,” Bundy said. “And it was preventable.”
By aggressively working with consumers, Bundy said, lenders can resolve ID theft problems and create goodwill. “If you want to generate a lot of bad publicity, then don't advocate for the victim,” he said. “Work with the victim and help them as much as you can.”
Czermak said technology and automation can assist lenders by embedding compliance within existing systems. “One reason why institutions are trying to embed compliance requirements is that it gets applied consistently across the loan pool,” she said. “It reduces the risk of employee training issues and enables real-time risk rating and risk scoring of new applications prior to doing business with them.”
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Sent by Jennifer Hamby
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