Lenders Use Social Media to Check the Backgrounds of Brokers and Applicants

Technology and social media have literally changed everything. It has changed the way we communicate, connect and share.

So many industries now turn to technology and social media when trying to learn or investigate something. Potential employers will research applicants on Google and social media sites like Facebook to get a sense of their character. Law enforcement leverages social media when investigating criminals. So why wouldn’t the financial community take advantage of technology and social media when investigating applicants?

While a potential employer may be interested in seeing what personal or potentially damaging information an applicant may have published online, a lender may leverage social media in completely different ways. Social media can even be used to uncover mortgage fraud – which is very common in today’s market space.

How can lenders use social media when underwriting an application, primarily where income and employment is concerned? An applicant may state on their application that they are employed but then state on their LinkedIn profile for example that they are the president of the company, or self-employed, or sub-contracted or perhaps they are no longer working at all.

While LinkedIn can uncover incorrect disclosure as it relates to employment, a simple Google or Facebook search can uncover things like marital status, the true nature of the relationship of applicants and more…

Just like social media can be leveraged by lenders when underwriting mortgage applications, lenders can also leverage social media when investigating brokers.

Lenders now leverage Google and social media to look up new broker applicants. They may be looking to validate years in business, reviews and other information. The age of technology means that agents have to be mindful of their online appearances.

As it relates to lenders leveraging technology to validate the information provided by your clients, you can too. You can look into both information about your client and the property they want to purchase or refinance. Doing this will mean that you can address any issues since you will catch faulty information before your application gets to the lender.

For more information about how to leverage technology to validate your client’s information please visit www.purview.ca/brokers or call 1-855-787-3439.