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On October 17th, I felt privileged to be part of a panel of industry experts at the Mortgage Professionals Mortgage Fraud Summit. The fraud summit happens every two years and it brings together members and experts to share experiences, latest trends and tools to help combat mortgage fraud.
The discussions came as no surprise as we all confirmed that fraud has not slowed down. In fact the legislative tightening around mortgages and the increased property values could actually be contributing to the increase in mortgage fraud.
It was also a general consensus that fraudsters have become much more sophisticated over the years. With advanced technology at their fingertips, it is becoming increasingly difficult for industry professionals to spot fraudulent identifications, altered income verifications or other statements. Fraudsters are also becoming more adept at creating synthetic identities (individuals who exist only on paper).
While all of this could sound a little dismal, the theme of the summit that resonated with me is the importance of collaboration to fight fraud. Let’s be realistic, no one is going to halt fraud altogether. There is always going to be fraud for shelter, profit and commission. But if we all work together to share what we have learned and increase awareness of mortgage fraud, perhaps we can make it just a little more difficult for fraudsters to be successful.
It was a great honour to sit among mortgage insurers, lenders, brokers and reporting agencies, some of the best in the industry, all coming together with one common goal – educating each other about fraud!
Have you come across any fraudulent transactions recently? We’d love to hear how you handled it!