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• Mortgage Fraud
• Types of Mortgage Fraud
• Tips to Prevent Mortgage Fraud
• Help Your Clients Avoid Identity Theft
• Fraud Watch Web Sites and Contacts

Mortgage fraud has become an increasing problem in recent years.

It is in the best interest of all stakeholders to work together to recognize and combat mortgage fraud in all its various forms. This will require a coordinated effort where all stakeholders share information on an ongoing basis. Once fraud is discovered, we must also vigorously pursue those involved.

Genworth continues to work with various industry committees, law enforcement and public agencies to fight mortgage fraud.

These agencies and groups include:

• Canadian Anti Fraud Centre (CAFC) (www.antifraudcentre.ca) : The CAFC( formerly Phonebusters) is a division of the RCMP and OPP working together to help consumers and victims with id theft and all types of fraud scams. Visit their web site to find their phone number or learn more about how to protect yourself. Please do not hesitate to file a complaint or ask for their assistance if you have a suffered a loss or invasion of your privacy compromising your id. They estimate that on 5% of id theft victims report the incidences.
• The Fraud Prevention Forum (FPF)
• CAAMP
• RCMP, regional and provincial police forces

Genworth has worked with 5 other FPF partners to launch an online fraud quiz to measure consumers' awareness of fraud: www.abcfraud.ca. We also lobby government to encourage legislative change for consumer protection.

Best practices

Much work is required from industry participants to establish best practices around fraud prevention, education, and due diligence. At Genworth Financial Canada, we have developed and implemented several behind the scenes strategies to protect lenders. Our teams of underwriters and support people are highly experienced in detecting mortgage fraud, and are experts at identifying red flags and mitigating risks.

Given the increase in mortgage fraud, we urge a continued focus on identity and documentation validation, and encourage all industry professionals to make use of our resources to learn more. Genworth firmly supports the need for ongoing training and will continue to provide information and resources to industry organizations and other mortgage fraud training initiatives. When you encounter fraud, please follow your company's internal policies regarding the reporting of fraud, and consider emailing us at StopFraud@genworth.com