As If The Mortgage Lending World Didn’t Have Enough Bad News…
I wrote about LendingTree’s practice of giving their customers information out to multiple lenders back in March of 2007. Now we find out that their nefarious plot went much further than just that.
LendingTree has told its customers that former employees helped unauthorized mortgage lenders hack into its systems and steal customer information from 2006 to 2008.
The incident reveals just how aggressive the mortgage loan business was during the height of the housing boom, and also raises fears for consumers who share their information with companies that help them shop around for the best deal. And it highlights what experts say is an often overlooked source of data theft — the inside job.
According to a letter sent to customers recently, former LendingTree LLC employees shared “confidential passwords” with lenders, who in turn used the login information to “access LendingTree’s customer loan request forms.”
The forms contained critical personal data, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, income and employment information. The company said the lenders did not use the information to commit identity theft or fraud, but simply to “market their own mortgage loans to … customers.” (read the rest of the story here)
Hat tip to Bob Sullivan over at the Red Tape Chronicles.
I can’t say that I am surprised at all, really.
Jonathan Bunn- Ashburn VA Real Estate says:
Interesting. This sucks for all of the lending companies with a reputation for integrity out there. Hey, thats a good idea. Start a company that is known for honesty and integrity and charge all you want. It will be at the top of forbes before you know it.
April 25, 2008 — 11:42 am
Doug Quance says:
When it comes to lenders – you’re only as good as your last loan.
Lenders I could trust in the past have to keep my trust one deal at a time. And lately, I trust very few of them.
April 26, 2008 — 9:03 am
Dave Shafer says:
Interesting. I think this is just the tip of the iceberg. I remember last year when a client started to receive phone calls from mortgage companies the day after I pulled his credit. The credit agencies had started to sell this data without any announcements! So I had to stop putting in phone numbers! The bottom line is that as long as folks are willing to treat their mortgage in the same way that they treat buying clothes (over the internet, 1-800 #s, etc.) then you will have abuse of their information. This is one of the many reasons that I have changed my mortgage business model.
April 27, 2008 — 9:27 am