April, 2007
Fraud Detection Technology
An escrow officer stops a fraudulent transaction from closing using a special ultraviolet light device.
Sheryl Stone, an escrow officer and branch manager for Fidelity National Title in Phoenix, Arizona, used her keen observational skills to prevent a fraudulent transaction from closing. A borrower had come into the office with his loan officer to sign refinance documents. At Sheryl's request, the borrower presented his identification, an Arizona driver's license, prior to signing the loan documents. Sheryl immediately thought the license looked suspicious.
She and a co-worker held the driver's license under their Fraud-Fighter counterfeit detection device, which uses ultraviolet light to scan and detect counterfeit cash, credit cards, money orders, drivers' licenses, passports and other fake IDs. If the state abbreviation or state seal appears on the front of an identification card when held under the light, then the card is legitimate. If the letters do not appear, the card is fraudulent.
The state of Arizona seal did not appear on the borrower's card, which meant the license was fake. Sheryl and her co-worker took the next step and called the Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles, who confirmed the license number was invalid.
Sheryl informed the loan officer and borrower that she would not be able to proceed with the signing. She handed the identification card back to the borrower and told him it was fraudulent. Neither the borrower nor the loan officer showed any surprise or remorse. They just got up and left the office - after asking Sheryl to validate their parking ticket!
Moral of the Story
Always ask for the identification of the signing party immediately, so your valuable time is not wasted on a signer with invalid identification. If fake identification is presented to you, notify the real estate professional representing the principal first, either in person or on the phone. Then, either you or the real estate professional has to immediately dismiss the signing party so employees do not find themselves in a potentially harmful situation. After the signing party has left the office, resign from the transaction and return all original documents and monies to the depositing parties with a resignation letter. Make your local management team members aware of the situation so they can share the names of the principals among our family of companies in your region. Criminals are not often aware that FNF is represented by multiple branded companies - we want to avoid repeat offenders. The ultraviolet light device can determine whether the identification is fake in seconds! These machines are available at www.fraud-fighter.com. To learn about other identity theft prevention products, go t o www.nationalnotary.org, click on "Education and Training" and then click "ID Theft Solutions."
Rock Island Office New Location
Effective April 9, 2007
the H. B. Wilkinson
Rock Island office
will be in their
new location at
322 16th Street,
Rock Island, IL 61201.
