How to Spot a Mortgage Scam

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Mortgage fraud is when someone knowingly uses or facilitates the use of any deliberate misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission, knowing the same to contain a misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission, during the mortgage lending process with the intention that it be relied on by a mortgage lender, borrower, or any other party to the mortgage lending process.

In a press release by the Appraisal Institute the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s March 2012 Mortgage Loan Fraud Update, found that depository institutions submitted 19,934 Suspicious Activity Reports in the third quarter of 2011 pertaining specifically to mortgage loan fraud, a 20 percent increase over the previous year.

Law enforcement activities surrounding mortgage fraud across the U.S. have resulted in the arrest of thousands, according to reports. Some of the most devastating instances of mortgage fraud involve identity theft. Consumers not only have to be leery of questionable mortgage lenders, but also of others who might buy a home in their name.

30 yrs ago mortgages originated at a savings-and-loan from bankers who obeyed conservative lending rules. Sweeping changes in the finance world have created a system to helped raise homeownership to record levels, but  it also has led to far looser lending standards allowing fraud to proliferate.

Predatory lenders often go after Illegal immigrants, first time home buyers, unsophisticated buyers, low income buyers, poor people who are often used as straw buyers and the elderly who might have full equity and fall victim to deed fraud.

There are dozens of scams to be aware of:

Lenders offering financial incentives to find buyers

Lenders offering financial incentives to provide employment records

Lenders targeting poor neighborhoods

Double closings; borrowers signing multiple mortgages on the same property which settle quickly and prevent the lenders from discovering the fraud

In the event of possible foreclosure:

Contact lender to work out payments

Carefully review documents before signing

Signing any kind of deeds means you’re selling your home

Be aware of people contacting you offering bargain loans or easy credit

They key to increase your “mortgage intelligence”. The more you understand about the lending process the better informed you will be to prevent being scammed. And always do business with know reputable brands.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing Real estate Agent safety on Inside Edition. Disclosures.

15 Screening Tips for Hiring Honest Employees

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Being a small business myself, I know how difficult it is to find the right employees. And everyone I speak to who is in business has the same problem. Unfortunately too many people lie, cheat and steal and when they come to work for you, they drain company resources until they are fired. It’s best to use prescreening services; otherwise the screening tips below will help you to hire honest employees.

#1 Job Classifieds: Place and ad that says what you want: “Seeking HONEST employees with high moral integrity who seek to thrive to in a motivating environment with many opportunities for advancement and higher pay. Applicants will have a background check and psychological test, reference checks, drug testing and additional screening to determine eligibility.”

#2 Look for incongruence. Resume are often “false advertising” and outright lies, look for red-flags and exaggerations.

#3 Appearance is telling. Someone who is disheveled and unkempt is a sign of character.

#4 Ace interviewees: Interviewees who are well-spoken and ace the interview process may have had lots and lots of jobs.

#5 Use employment applications: Check and verify everything.

#6 Resume Red flags: Look for gaps in employment, multiple workers comp claims, incongruence etc.

#7 Employee ID Verification: Photocopy and determine if identification is legitimate.

#8 Background checks: Necessary but are only one small part of the screening process.

#9 Criminal records checks: Insufficient by themselves and do not detect employee theft unless prosecuted and convicted. Juvenile convictions do not show on a criminal records check.

#10 Drug Testing: Drug and alcohol testing is an absolute must.

#11 Reference checks: Follow up and extensively check.

#12 Driving record checks: Look for red-flags, signs of recklessness, carelessness and aggressiveness.

#13 Employee Credit Check: Bad credit means irresponsible.

#14 Physical exams: Unhealthy body means unhealthy mind

#15 Budget check: Request the applicant write out their monthly expenses. If their expenses exceed their income that’s a red-flag.

Robert Siciliano personal and small business security specialist toADT Small Business Security discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures

Hiring Employees: How to Perform a Criminal Background Check

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Background checks are a necessary tool in today’s sometimes violent and certainly litigious society. If a rug installation company was to hire an installer, who eventually rapes and kills a client, then the rug installation company would be held libel for the animals actions. This example is one that happens all too often.

It’s common sense to require employment background checks for school volunteers, coaches, teachers, janitorial staff and really, employees of all kinds. As a small business, one the worst thing you can do is hire an employee who becomes a legal liability or has a history of crime that comes back to bite you.

There are two ways of going about getting a criminal background check for employment:

#1 Private companies: These are information brokers who have huge databases containing public records and records from private sources.  The information on a background check might include all the addresses you’ve lived at, those you are related to, marital status, social media profiles, current and past employers, criminal histories, driving records and credit. There is also a litany of other information that may or may not be 100% correct.  These pre-employment background checks are generally a guide, but not absolute. A quick search on “Background Check” will provide dozens of resources.

#2 FBI Criminal Background Check: A true criminal record comes directly from the FBI or an FBI-approved Channeler, An FBI Identification Record—often referred to as a criminal history record or a “rap sheet”—is a listing of certain information taken from fingerprint submissions retained by the FBI in connection with arrests and, in some instances, federal employment, naturalization, or military service. The process of responding to an Identification Record request is generally known as a criminal background check.

The FBI offers two methods for requesting your FBI Identification Record or proof that a record does not exist.

Option 1: Submit your request directly to the FBI.

Option 2: Submit to an FBI-approved Channeler, which is a private business that has contracted with the FBI receive the fingerprint submission and relevant data, collect the associated fee(s), electronically forward the fingerprint submission with the necessary information to the FBI CJIS Division for a national criminal history record check, and receive the electronic record check result for dissemination to the individual. Contact each Channeler for processing times.

Robert Siciliano personal and small business security specialist toADT Small Business Security discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures

Workplace Safety Tips: Identifying Fire Hazards

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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provide an exhaustive (and exhausting) detailed reference of fire safety standards here. Many states such as IOSHA (Indiana) have adopted these workplace safety tips and summed them up different fire hazards in a convenient way:

General Fire Safety Tips

To eliminate fire hazards, you can install a fire alarm system and look for potential sources of fire ignition which may exist in your facility, such as:

Electrical Failures and Misuse of Electrical Equipment

You can reduce electrical fire hazards by ensuring proper installation, maintenance, and use; conducting regular inspections; and, providing job training to employees. Also, be sure to replace worn electrical cords and avoid overloading electrical circuits.

Housekeeping and Maintenance

You can reduce the potential for fires through attention to housekeeping. Immediately dispose of flammable wastes and scrap in metal containers with metal lids. Avoid excessive stockpiling, and put trash and paper in proper containers.

Path of Travel

Do not store flammable material in any part of a means of egress. If the path that your employees must travel to leave the building is not immediately apparent from any point, mark the route with directional signs

Exit Doors

A door designated as a means of egress must be maintained so that employees can easily exit.

Do not lock exit doors; doing so prevents escape from inside the building.

Doors shall never be chained, barred, bolted, or latched when the building is occupied.

Prohibit the use of locking devices that are difficult to open against door pressure (e.g., slide bolts, hasps, hooks and eyes).

Prevent the door from being blocked by debris, surplus stock, mechanical equipment, or ice and snow.

Maintain all door components in working condition.

Robert Siciliano personal and small business security specialist toADT Small Business Security discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures

5 Hiring Tips on How to Spot Resume Fraud

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Most of us have read the resume of a friend or family member and did a double take and asked “Is this really you?”

Resumes are designed to express to a potential employer your work history and skill sets. They are designed as a guide for an employer to use as a checklist to evaluate your potential. A well written resume with the right content coupled with a good interview is an interviewees best shot at getting a job.

The problem with resumes is they are created based on the honor system. Resume fraud is on the rise and honesty is in short supply these days. And while a potential employer can certainly conduct due-diligence with a series of reference checks, the information on a resume is often exaggerated and candy coated.

As a small business you can use these hiring tips to see through the smoke and mirrors and get to the point.

#1 Confirm education degrees. Any claims to any qualifications must be vetted by contacting the issuing institution to verify legitimacy and current status. If they say they attended a college be sure it wasn’t just a Springtime Kegger.

#2 Confirm all professional licenses. Most states of licensing boards online that allow for quick checks on the current status of professional licensing. Many national trade associations provide similar services. But make sure the National Association of Supreme Mechanics or whatever is recognized by another familiar organization.

#3 Confirm employment history. It’s not enough to know they worked there. You want to know that in-fact they did and why they aren’t.

#4 Inquire about resume gaps. Extensive gaps in employment might be a sign they left a job on bad terms and didn’t notate it on a resume. Background checks may show those previous non-listed jobs.

#5 Google them. Look on LinkedIn, Facebook and elsewhere. An exhaustive search of their given name, nicknames and social media handles/monikers might bring up damaging information that will help you make an effective decision.

Robert Siciliano personal and small business security specialist toADT Small Business Security discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures

Energy Saving Tips for Small Business

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Going “Green” isn’t a fad, it’s necessary to save the planet. If you have watched any of the documentaries on the Discovery Channel about how the polar icecaps are melting then you might have the same sick feeling in the pit of your stomach like I do.  Conservatively, sea levels will rise around 2 feet in the next 100 years, and that’s just the beginning.

The Small Business Administration and numerous other resources are available to help small business go green.

Whether you own or lease your building, you typically need lighting, heating, air conditioning, power for office equipment, and other services to stay in business. This guide will help your business be more energy efficient.

Become Energy Efficient: Virtually any small business can improve its energy efficiency easily and cost-effectively, using the numerous resources that are available both from ENERGY STAR and a wide variety of other organizations.

Energy Saving Tips: Good energy management is good business. The prudent and conservative use of energy is one of the easiest and most cost effective steps you can take to cut operating costs and increase profitability.

Calculate Energy Savings: Get tools and resources to help you calculate energy savings from your energy efficient upgrades.

Sustainable Business Practices: After making energy efficient upgrades, you may also want to consider taking additional steps to implement sustainable business practices that help protect the environment.

Energy Efficient Upgrades: Learn about energy efficient upgrades you can make to your facilities to lower energy costs and conserve energy.

For Specific Businesses: The types of energy efficiency upgrades that provide the largest cost savings depend on the kind of business you are running.

State and Local Energy Efficiency Programs: Here you will find a listing of state, local and regional programs that help small businesses become energy efficient. These programs offer financial assistance in the form of grants and loans for making energy efficient upgrades.

The clock is ticking. The time is now. Let’s work together to save our planet.

Robert Siciliano personal and small business security specialist toADT Small Business Security discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures

Fire Safety Rules for your Business

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A week doesn’t go by where we see news reports of a single house fire, small or large multi family building go up in flames. Dozens of people are displaced and often, someone dies. But when you think about it, fires in businesses seem to be less common.

This is probably due in part to businesses being more regulated along with having better fire safety rules in place to recognize and prevent vulnerabilities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Charts for 1992-2007, fires and explosions accounted for 3% of workplace fatalities in 2007.

IOSHA (Indiana) have adopted Federal OSHA fire prevention guidelines and summed up a fire safety checklist.

Fire Exits

Employers must provide a means of egress for employees’ use in case of fire, explosion, or natural disaster. A means of egress refers to the route your employees are to follow through the building, the exit door, and away from the building.

Fire Exit Signs

Be sure that exits are designated by a sign that is readily visible and identifiable from the distance that employees will have to travel. Fire exit signs must have letters at least six inches high and three-fourths (3/4) of an inch wide and must be illuminated by a light source or internally illuminated.

Portable Fire Extinguishers

These rules establish the minimum requirements for provision and maintenance of portable fire extinguishers. Different types of extinguishers are required based on the type of hazard at the location. As the employer, you must be aware of circumstances in your workplace that determine whether unique conditions exist that create a greater fire hazard. Contact your local fire department or fire marshal to obtain additional information or assistance with this determination.

The type of fire extinguisher needed depends on the type of fire hazard present. A fire is classified based on what fuels it. Extinguishers are rated by which types of fire they can put out, as follows.

Fire Extinguisher Classes

Class A:   For use on wood, paper, cloth;

Class B:  For use on gasoline, paints, oil;

Class C: For use on electrical wiring, fuse boxes; or

Class ABC:  For use in extinguishing fires from a variety or combination of fuel types.

Employee Training

Train employees on evacuation procedures to follow in case of a fire or other emergency.

Also, provide directions on proper use of fire extinguishers, if employees will be expected to use them. Most fire extinguishers follow this technique (pull, aim, squeeze, and sweep):

1. Pull the pin or release other locking device.

2. Aim the extinguisher nozzle (horn or hose) at the base of the fire.

3. Squeeze or press the handle.

4. Sweep from side to side at the base of the fire. Watch for reflash. Discharge the contents of the fire extinguisher.

Check the instructions for the extinguishers in your facility, as foam and water extinguishers require slightly different action.

Robert Siciliano personal and small business security specialist toADT Small Business Security discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures

Top 7 Tips to Business Continuity In a Disaster

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Whether it is a natural disaster, manmade disaster, terrorist attack or Murphy’s law wreaking havoc on your business, having an emergency plan of action is an absolute necessity to ensure business continuity and keep the organization running.

The Better Business Bureau has compiled basic tips to ensuring business continuity.

Don’t be caught off guard. Consider the different types of disasters—fire, flood, tornado, etc.—that can occur and how your business would respond differently to being displaced for a week, a month, or longer.

Know your surroundings. Determine alternate locations for your business to operate if you are displaced from your current building. This could mean enabling employees to work from home or finding an alternate location for your office or store.

Prepare your staff. Identify essential staff who are core to the operations of the business and keep a list of their phone numbers (home, work, pager, cell) and e-mail addresses that can be accessed by employees from several locations (home, Internet, etc.).

Communicate, communicate, and communicate. Devise an emergency communications plan that outlines how your business will communicate with employees, customers, vendors and other key external contacts in the days following a disaster. Contact vendors and suppliers to confirm their emergency response plan procedures. Be prepared to use alternate vendors for essential supplies and equipment. Have your data back-up equipment kept in good working condition.

Have an up-to-date inventory of your assets. Review your insurance policies to ensure that you have adequate coverage for items you cannot afford to lose. A standard policy may not cover business interruption losses.

Store your documents safely and efficiently. Keep duplicates of personnel, payroll, payables and receivables and other essential records at an off-site location. Regularly make back-up copies of important computer files.

Establish a succession of management for the company. Determine who will manage the company to ensure business continuity if key leaders are unavailable.

Robert Siciliano personal and small business security specialist toADT Small Business Security discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures

Employee ID Verification for Small Business

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When hiring new employees the first concern is often “how good of an employee will they be” but in fact the first concern should be “are they actually who they say they are” because regardless of the nature of your business, an employee who isn’t actually who they say they are can wreak havoc on your business when there are no consequences to their real identity.

Former Department of Homeland Security Chief Chertoff stated; “I’m going to submit to you that in the 21st Century, the most important asset that we have to protect as individuals and as part of our nation is the control of our identity, who we are, how we identify ourselves, whether other people are permitted to masquerade and pretend to be us, and thereby damage our livelihood, damage our assets, damage our reputation, damage our standing in our community.”

We are functioning in an environment in which IDs have yet to be verified or authenticated. There are hundreds of forms of identification in circulation with little security, the Social Security number is a national ID available everywhere, there are thousands of variations of the birth certificate, there are kids on college campuses everywhere selling fake IDs and credit is wide open.

All these fake IDs contribute to the exasperating problem of imposter fraud.

Get the ID Checking Guide to assist you with employee ID verification. “Whether for initial screening or final ID check, verifying ID is important. By reducing inappropriate employment applications, time is saved and later errors or litigation averted. Our references are quick and easy-to-use, with clear indication of the security features that help to verify ID.”

Eventually fake ID detection methods like Smart-cards, biometrics in all its forms, multi-factor authentication and other identity verification methods will help form trusted identities and being an imposter won’t be so easy.

Robert Siciliano personal and small business security specialist toADT Small Business Security discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures

Business Data Breaches Key in Rise of ID Theft

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The 2012 Identity Fraud Report: Social Media and Mobile Forming the New Fraud Frontier report released by Javelin Strategy & Research Data Breaches increasing and more damaging – “One likely contributing factor to the fraud increase was the 67 percent increase in the number of Americans impacted by data breaches compared to 2010. Javelin Strategy & Research found victims of data breaches are 9.5 times more likely to be a victim of identity fraud than consumers who did not receive such a data breach letter. The survey found 15 percent of Americans, or about 36 million people, were notified of a data breach in 2011.”

Over the past five years, criminal hackers from all over the world have been targeting huge databases of Social Security and credit card numbers. The endgame for criminal hackers is identity theft. Once they obtain stolen data, their objective is to turn it into cash as quickly as possible. This either entails selling the data to identity thieves on black market forums, or using the information to create new accounts or to take over existing credit card accounts.

According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse’s Chronology of Data Breaches, more than 500 million sensitive records have been breached in the past five years. The Chronology of Data breaches lists specific examples of data theft incidents in which personal data is compromised, lost, or stolen: “employees losing laptop computers, hackers downloading credit card numbers and sensitive personal data accidentally exposed online.”

The fundamentals of ID theft protection include:

Software: Antivirus, antiphishing, antispyware. Total protection “all access” suites of protection and full disk encryption

Hardware: Routers, firewall security appliances

Physical security: Commercial grade solid core doors, business security systems, security cameras.

Robert Siciliano personal and small business security specialist toADT Small Business Security discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures