Lenders often mention the importance of customer service at the closing
table, in terms of demeanor and quickness on the part of the title
agent, but a recent white paper produced by the nation’s largest lender
stressed the importance of the title agent acting as the last line of
fraud detection.
“The Last Line of Defense to Prevent Mortgage Fraud,” written by Patrick Aliano,
senior vice president of Mortgage Fraud Prevention for Bank of America
Home Loans, noted that being the “last line of defense” is a heavy
burden to place on a closing agent, especially because at that point, a
potential scheme has bypassed all of the lender’s own controls.
“In today’s age, most mortgage loan transactions processed and approved by lenders never involve meeting
the borrower face to face, so the lender never has the opportunity to
obtain a copy of any identification in the process,” Aliano stated. “The
last line of defense in a typical origination loan, especially for
preventing identity theft, is the closing settlement agent and notary.”
The white paper listed several common red flags for closing, settlement and title professionals to watch for: