New FTC report shows reported fraud increased by 70% over 2020 to more than $5.8 billion in losses.
Publication Ordering Change
The order site for NCUA share insurance booklets, signage, and Equal Housing poster moves to GPO.
Appraisal Discrimination Blog
CFPB blog reminds institutions that racial inequities distort the housing market and urges them to pay attention.
InfoSight Tools Available
New InfoSight tools that assist with check holds and share insurance are free for 60 days to all affiliates and to CUs under $100m in assets.
Synthetic Identity Fraud Mitigation Toolkit Released
The Federal Reserve developed a new Synthetic Identity Fraud Mitigation Toolkit to both educate the financial services industry about synthetic identity fraud and outline potential ways to detect and mitigate it.
What is synthetic identity fraud?
According to the Federal Reserve, synthetic identity fraud is “the use of a combination of personally identifiable information (PII) to fabricate a person or entity in order to commit a dishonest act for personal or financial gain.”
Why should we be concerned about synthetic identities?
The Fed notes that, “the ease of synthetic creation, combined with the increase in digital account applications capabilities, have simplified the process of creating these fictitious people and allowing them to penetrate the financial system.”
What is in the toolkit?
The toolkit contains the following four modules to help financial institutions detect and combat this type of fraud:
Module 1: Synthetic Identity Fraud Basics
Module 2: How Synthetic Identities are Used
Module 3: When Synthetics Become a Reality
Module 4: Detecting a Synthetic Identity
We encourage you to take advantage of this toolkit. It's a reputable resource you can use to educate your own staff and be proactive in identifying and combatting schemes that involve synthetic identity fraud.
Our Compliance Conference is Almost Here!
Have you registered for our March 22-23 conference in Helena? Now is the time to make the commitment to learning, engaging, and sharing with your peers.
The agenda is packed with valuable topics and there is plenty of time for networking and discussions, so register by March 11. We can't wait to see you there!
A Few Thoughts...
This month's issue has a lot of lending topics in it, which is not always the case. That department dealt with a lot of change in the last two years with temporary COVID regulatory rules, more focus on the realities of fair lending problems in underserved areas, and just the general competitive nature of the lending landscape. If you are reading this because someone forwarded it to you but you would like to receive your own monthly copy, please let me know.
Last week, thousands of credit union advocates gathered in Washington, D.C. It is always powerful to have so many people focused on the credit union motto of "people helping people" and there's no better way to show it than by talking to lawmakers and decisionmakers about what impacts your ability to help your members when they need you.
I plan to be out traveling around the state this spring and summer visiting credit unions and hope we get a chance to connect! In the meantime, don't hesitate to reach out if can offer any assistance with your compliance needs. And I get to see some of you at the conference later this month and that makes me smile!
