During the mortgage loan process, applicants submit a lot of personal information to their lenders for review. In the wrong hands, this information can lead to serious identity theft.
Is there something about yourself that you don’t share with your lender when you’re trying to buy a home? Everything from your Social Security number, date of birth, income, address, bank account information and much, much more is needed to complete those piles of mortgage paperwork. So what happens when someone at the lender’s office decides to use your information for their own benefit? An identity theft nightmare ensues.
Here’s an example of an identity theft horror story: Jason Alan Tauer of Minnesota, a mortgage servicer at Ameriquest, stole the identities of at least 93 people from the office of the mortgage lender where he worked. With this plethora of personal information, he created fake IDs and checks and applied for credit cards in the victims’ names. Armed with these bogus credentials and very real lines of credit, he was able to purchase thousands of dollars worth of assets. He even used a credit card in someone else’s name to withdraw $30,529.63 in cash advances from ATMs.
Too often, identity thieves like Jason go uncaught and unpunished. Fortunately, Jason was caught and convicted. He has pleaded guilty to bank fraud, device fraud and aggravated identity theft, and after his case is reviewed, he may receive a prison sentence of more than 70 years.
So be careful: someone deceitful at an organization you’re doing business with could steal your personal information. Unfortunately, this type of identity theft is largely out of your control. The best thing you can do is periodically check your credit report for signs of new accounts, bad debts, and late payments.
You can sign up for an online credit monitoring service, which will allow you to monitor your current accounts and see when new accounts are opened in your name. Some services also provide your credit scores so you know how creditworthy you are to lenders. In addition to credit monitoring, there are also identity protection services that monitor your identity credentials online and elsewhere. These services make sure that no one else misuses your personal information for their own benefit.
