Kathy Egan
reporter3.riverbendnews@gmail.com
Guard your information! A new scamming technique is snaking through the world, and it is striking out at what is probably your largest investment – your house.
What is going on this time? Scammers are completing applications for loans and using other peoples' houses as collateral, effectively stealing whatever equity the homeowners have built up.
In order to go about completing these loan applications, the thieves need particular information. A popular way of deceiving you into giving them what they need is by pretending that they work for one of the large credit card companies.
The scammer calls and identifies himself as an employee in the fraud department of a loan or credit card company. He likely tries to sound as legitimate as possible by providing an employee or badge number. He proceeds to say they have received your credit application and has a few questions to ask about it. Of course, there is no application, and this is just a way to trick the homeowner.
The caller may already know a lot about you, including your address, spouse's name, mother's maiden name, and what credit cards are in your name. These details are readily available through free and paid online searches. He may even know your Social Security number. He will ask you to “verify” the items he already knows, and that will often include the names of credit cards that you have, such as Chase or Wells Fargo. Eventually, the trickster will get around to asking for your social security number (if he doesn't already know it) as well as specific account numbers.
Then, he completes a Home Equity Line of Credit or other loan application and receives funds based on your credit rating and home equity. The result is that there is now a second mortgage in your name that you don't even know about. Of course, no one is making payments on that ill-gotten loan and you have lost whatever value your home had, and your credit rating takes a nose dive in the process.
What to do? Hang up on anyone asking questions about your financial information! If you think the caller is legitimate, hang up anyway! Check to be sure by calling the number on the back of your card to see if someone called you.
Never give anyone who calls you your Social Security number or any other numbers. Report the phone call to all your credit card companies, your bank, and your mortgage company. Put a freeze on your credit by contacting the credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian). Protect yourself and your home.