This Sunday’s Arizona Republic best up Brian Krebs’ commodity in the Washington Post about thieves borer into home disinterestedness curve of credit. This is actual interesting- not just because it agency there are humans out there who in fact still accept home equity, but that aswell because it is a actual simple con with potentially adverse effects. Note that there was no abstracts annexation here- rather the advice was mined legally. Second is that if the coffer avalanche for the con, back they accept it was the borrower who fabricated the withdrawal, the borrower has to ascertain the artifice and accommodate some anatomy of affirmation that it was not they who fabricated the withdrawal.
After I read this story, I went out to see what data was available to see if this was possible. Despite a wife who uses this information on a daily basis to perform her job, I was still surprised. The amount and quality of information that is held in public databases, readily accessible to anyone who cares to view it, is pretty amazing. If you are not aware of it, when you buy a home, pretty much every piece of information regarding that transaction is logged by the county recorder and placed in the public domain. If you are a homeowner, go out to your county recorder’s web site and search for the data; your name, address, signature, lender, the amount, possibly the interest rate, and a lot of other information as well. Seriously, take a minute and check it out; I think you will be startled as to what you find. Stars, celebrities, politicians, along with everyone else.
In this particular case there was no data theft component- rather it was simple and legal data mining for ID theft. They probably were able to cross-reference those people who looked like they might have assets with a credit score, and voila, instant target list.
A lot of people have had their HELOC, or Home Equity Line of Credit, yanked by their banks recently, some in the middle of remodeling projects. Part of the issue is the banks trying to reduce their exposure on people who are living off their credit lines, but another is this type of fraud. Banks and financial institutions have long had the problem of ‘How do I know it’s really you?’, and thieves often know in advance what the banks ask for in the way of authentication. Of course, this makes it easier to either have that information, or a suitable excuse, prepared. Had the group in this specific case not been so greedy and tried to move such a large sum of money, I am not sure they would have been caught. And since the perpetrator is able to mask their identity and location, it’s up to the bank’s representative to have enough savvy to not fall for the con. And even if detected, it’s trouble for both the lender and the borrower, so check your statements as this could happen to pretty much anyone.
Written by alane
After I read this story, I went out to see what data was available to see if this was possible. Despite a wife who uses this information on a daily basis to perform her job, I was still surprised. The amount and quality of information that is held in public databases, readily accessible to anyone who cares to view it, is pretty amazing. If you are not aware of it, when you buy a home, pretty much every piece of information regarding that transaction is logged by the county recorder and placed in the public domain. If you are a homeowner, go out to your county recorder’s web site and search for the data; your name, address, signature, lender, the amount, possibly the interest rate, and a lot of other information as well. Seriously, take a minute and check it out; I think you will be startled as to what you find. Stars, celebrities, politicians, along with everyone else.
In this particular case there was no data theft component- rather it was simple and legal data mining for ID theft. They probably were able to cross-reference those people who looked like they might have assets with a credit score, and voila, instant target list.
A lot of people have had their HELOC, or Home Equity Line of Credit, yanked by their banks recently, some in the middle of remodeling projects. Part of the issue is the banks trying to reduce their exposure on people who are living off their credit lines, but another is this type of fraud. Banks and financial institutions have long had the problem of ‘How do I know it’s really you?’, and thieves often know in advance what the banks ask for in the way of authentication. Of course, this makes it easier to either have that information, or a suitable excuse, prepared. Had the group in this specific case not been so greedy and tried to move such a large sum of money, I am not sure they would have been caught. And since the perpetrator is able to mask their identity and location, it’s up to the bank’s representative to have enough savvy to not fall for the con. And even if detected, it’s trouble for both the lender and the borrower, so check your statements as this could happen to pretty much anyone.
Written by alane
0 Responses to "Home Equity Fraud"
Post a Comment