Meltdown Stokes Privacy Violations
Two mortgage companies are facing government legal actions for failing to adequately secure the private information of former borrowers and applicants. The case of one of the companies, which shut down this summer, is likely to be repeated across the country given the scale of the mortgage meltdown. And if branch managers of local operations fail to secure files upon the closing of local offices -- officers and directors could be held criminally liable.
American United Mortgage Co. agreed to pay a $50,000 penalty after it placed files with customers' personal and financial information in a public dumpster, the Federal Trade Commission announced today.
A stipulated judgment and order were filed by the Justice Department in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.
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Best Leads Practices Recommended
Lead generation companies are being asked to voluntarily adopt a set of best practices.
P2P Network Exposed Private Borrower Data
The social security numbers and other personal information of more than 5,200 ABN AMRO Mortgage Group borrowers were inadvertently opened to access by anyone using an online file sharing network as a result of actions by a former employee.
Public Filing Contained Private Data
Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp. has paid $500,000 in penalties for disclosing the personal information of more than 1,000 borrowers in a public filing.
Lead Generation Scrutinized
Aggressive lead generation tactics are prompting regulatory inquiry at both state and federal levels, according to a recent industry report.
Bigger is Better in Offshoring
Data security, company size and cost are big factors in deciding to offshore mortgage functions, according to a recent survey of mortgage providers.
Company Sued for Dumping Files
The Aloha state has sued a defunct escrow company and its former president for recklessly discarding the personal information of some 1,000 borrowers, sellers, real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and former employees.
Fines Over Discarded Files
Two mortgage companies in North Carolina have been fined for improperly disposing mortgage applicant's personal information.
Broker Sued for Faxing Prospects
When mortgage broker Shelly Piaggio looked to generate mortgage leads in 2003 for her newly hired loan officers, she decided that contacting prospective borrowers via fax machine was the way to go.
FTC Stops Mortgage Lead Calls
Two Maryland-based companies have settled with the Federal Trade Commission allegations of illegally calling consumers to offer mortgages.
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