Mortgage fraud remains ever-present within financial services, and the role of the Mortgage Adviser is pivotal in combating it.
One of the lenders that work hardest to help advisers reduce fraud is HSBC. Faye Harper, the Intermediary Risk Manager at HSBC, has kindly provided us with her hints and tips for fighting mortgage fraud.
Faye’s Hints and Tips
Payslips
- Does the Payslip have an employee number?
- Does the employee number make sense? Employee number 1 is normally reserved for the director.
- If they are paid in cash – do the bank statements reflect this?
- Are there any spelling mistakes?
- Deductions – We would normally expect to see Income tax, NI, and maybe a pension. There could be a reason for minimal deductions, such as the income being below the tax thresholds. We would urge you to query any zero deductions with your client.
- Does the address match what you know of the employer? Sometimes it could be different, but that can be queried with your client.
- Does the status say active? Or is it dissolved – we have seen applications in the past from companies that are no longer trading.
- Was the company recently incorporated? Based on the incorporation date, does it tie up when the client told you they started working for the company.
- Always keep the case updated.
- If you cannot get the information from the client – add an ad-hoc document to keep the lender updated.
- Explain as best you can anything unusual about the case or that would warrant further questioning.