BMW Fights The Rise in Straw Borrower Fraud
Soaring vehicle tax rates levied on US car exports in China have created an arbitrage opportunity for fraudsters that can get their hands ahold of luxury cars. Last year China slapped an additional 25% tariff on imports making luxury cars very, very expensive. And the fraudsters have moved into Canada to take advantage of this […]
America’s First Auto Fraud Case 1941
I always thought Auto Lending Fraud scams were a relatively new phenomenon. After all, white-collar crime has risen as banking and new technologies have emerged over the last 20 years. But boy was I wrong. About a week ago, I decided to challenge myself and find the oldest case of auto lending fraud that I […]
7 Red Flags in Auto Finance Fraud
Matt Wood wrote a great article for PowerSports Finance that originally appeared here – 7 Red Flags that An Application Might Be Fraudulent. As part of that article, he interviewed industry experts and fraud professionals such as myself to understand what makes an auto finance application risky. When there are information discrepancies If the information doesn’t […]
19 Banks Hit with Phantom Auto Loan Fraud Scam
Credit Unions continued to get pounded by auto lending fraud. Just this week the Department of Justice revealed a massive auto loan scheme that targeted credit unions – DOJ Phantom Loan Scheme. A federal jury in Charlotte returned a guilty verdict late yesterday against Kimberlie L. Flemings, 49, of Mt. Holly, N.C. for her role […]
Synthetic Identity Up 500% in Auto Lending Since 2011
Synthetic Identity is a big problem for auto lenders. But I didn’t realize how big a problem it was until I read this eye popping report from Chicago based Trans Union. According the report, synthetic identity fraud is not only rising year over year but looking back over the last 7 years has seen a […]
Car Dealer Slapped With Massive Fine for Loan Fraud
Hallman Chevrolet in PA was slapped with a massive $2 million dollar fine for loan fraud this week. If you factor in the average profit they might make from selling a car of $2,000 that means that the dealership is going to have to sell about 1,000 cars to make up for the huge fine […]
Serial Fraudster Racks Up $30 Million In Luxury Auto Fraud
He was an FBI informant, once testified against the Russian mob, and his spare time was a serial fraudster. Albert “Alex” Golant was born in Belarus Russia and moved to Wisconsin at a young age. To make money he would eventually become a prolific car broker and high stakes gambler, only his schemes were not […]
Auto Lender Hit With Phantom Auto Loan Fraud
In 2015, the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was involved in the largest hack against Government employees in history. The hackers made off with 21.5 million records. That data included social security numbers, fingerprints, usernames, passwords and other personal data from government employees. The OPM apparently awarded ID Experts $133 Million to protect the identities of those government […]
Auto Lenders Address Rising Fraud
An article written by Matt Wood in Auto Finance News highlighted some of the rising fraud trends that we are seeing in auto lending. Different forms of fraud are rising in the auto industry and are presenting lenders with challenges as fraudsters continue to grow smarter, Frank McKenna, chief fraud strategist at artificial intelligence solutions […]
32 Mercedes Seized in Auto Lending Fraud Case
32 Mercedes Benz vehicles were seized by Law Enforcement in Los Angeles last weekend with a value of over $3 Million. The vehicles were discovered by the California Highway Patrol right before they were going to be loaded on shipping containers and headed to China. Mercedes Benz imported from the US are a hot commodity in China […]
Synthetic ID Fraud is Hot, But Think Bigger
As fraudsters become more sophisticated, more types of fraud are affecting auto finance. But rather than put the bulk of resources into emerging fraud types, auto lenders should develop a holistic approach to fighting fraud, experts say. “There is a tendency for lenders to react to the fraud of the moment,” which for now is […]
Auto Loan Synthetic Fraud Ring Busted
An elaborate multi-loan fraud case involving 22 borrowers was uncovered by Tinker Credit Union in Oklahoma after they analyzed their charge off’s and defaults and noticed an unusual pattern. 22 loan applicants advised the bank that they paid over $2,000 each to a person Paul Barry White – the ringleader of the scheme. In exchange for […]