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Mortgage brokers should take care when registering new clients in a hot market – they may be fraudsters.
It is increasingly common for criminals to steal people’s identities and then use false documentation to take out loans in their name, according to insurance firm First Title.
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The scammers are most likely to be new clients trying to fool under-pressure brokers, said First Title’s national manager of legal and conveyancing, Peter Cutajar.
“The hotter the market becomes, the more frauds you’ll see because when people are busy they may overlook something,” he told The Adviser.
“In this ever-increasing market, particularly in Sydney, you’ll see a lot of new clients, but it’s those new clients that you really have to do the checks with.”
Mr Cutajar said there had been instances of fraudsters discovering a person’s name and date of birth and then using those details to acquire fake credit cards, driver’s licences and Medicare cards. Those cards are then used to trick mortgage brokers into processing mortgages or remortgages, he added.
There have even been examples of fraudsters selling other people’s homes, he said. The fraudsters are able to put these properties on the market by first renting them and then acquiring fake documents in the landlord’s name.
Mr Cutajar told The Adviser that the best way for brokers to protect themselves was by gathering as much information as possible about their clients.
Brokers should only deal with original documents and should test all phone numbers they receive, he said. They should also meet their clients in person – ideally at their homes or workplaces.
“You’ll find a lot of these fraudsters insist that you don’t meet them face to face, and if you do, they will come out to meet you at your office,” he said.
Meanwhile, NSW fair trading minister Stuart Ayres has warned real estate agencies about a scam email that is designed to solicit details of overseas-based clients.
“The scammers may then seek to assume the identities of non-residents and sell their properties without the real owners’ knowledge,” said Mr Ayres.
