Preventing Mortgage Fraud: Securing Information
A couple cases of mortgage fraud have made local headlines in the past month, and it should serve as a reminder for consumers to be savvy when it comes to mortgage fraud, and how to prevent it. One of the best ways you can prevent yourself from mortgage fraud (or other types of fraud), is to keep your information secure.
- Before you give out personal information, online or in person, be sure you know: who you are dealing with, how the information is being used, and if it will be shared
- Only carry pertinant (and minimum) personal information and identification in your wallet. Besides your driver’s license and Alberta Health Card, what else are you carrying around that a fraudster can make use of?
- Regularly check your credit reports and credit card statements: if something doesn’t look right, report it right away
- Inspect your bank statements on a regular basis as well for unknown charges
- Shred financial and personal documents before you discard of them
- If you use mail, be aware of when your bills should be arriving, and access your mail daily
Looking for more tips on what mortgage fraud is and how to prevent it? The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP) has great information online. And of course you can always contact me with any questions as well.
