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outsource Financial has launched a fraud detection platform designed to help brokers identify potential document manipulation before a loan application proceeds.
Rolled out to brokers last Friday (11 September), the independent aggregator’s Fraud Finder platform conducts checks on electronic documents, surfacing potential anomalies and other indicators that may warrant further investigation.
Fraud Finder representative Steven Chamos said the platform was designed to give brokers an “X-ray vision” for financial documents.
“A document can look completely normal on the viewed page, but the electronic file itself may still contain a history of changes, who it previously referred to, or other inconsistencies that are not obvious to the naked eye,” he said.
“We are not telling a broker whether a document is fraudulent. Our system’s task is to surface the available evidence within an electronic file so the broker can make a better-informed decision.”
Chamos also noted that the platform does not take or store brokers’ client documents.
“We made a deliberate decision from day one that Fraud Finder would never need to take possession of a broker’s client documents,” he said.
“The document stays on the broker’s device. We do not receive it, we do not store it and we cannot see it. That means brokers can get the benefit of document forensics without creating another database of highly sensitive client information that could become a target for a potential data breach or cyber attack.”
outsource Financial CEO Tanya Sale said the tool was intended to give brokers another layer of protection as fraudulent activity becomes more sophisticated.
“As we are all currently seeing, on an industry-wide level, there is growing sophistication on fraudulent activity, which is presenting new challenges for both brokers and lenders alike,” Sale said.
“Fraud Finder provides our brokers with a much-needed additional layer of protection, as it has the ability to analyse key financial documents, picking out anomalies, alterations and fraud indicators. This tool is going to enable greater confidence in application quality across the board, which will in turn, result in more efficient assessment outcomes.”
Mortgage fraud under scrutiny
The launch of Fraud Finder comes as mortgage fraud continues to attract attention from regulators and law enforcement, with recent investigations highlighting the potential for falsified information and documents to enter the lending process.
Last week, several accounting firm employees were charged over their alleged roles in facilitating fraudulent loan applications linked to the so-called Penthouse Syndicate.
The charges came as AUSTRAC continues to investigate potential co-ordinated mortgage fraud through its Fintel Alliance.
In August, Australia’s banking associations renewed calls for ATO data to be made available through the Consumer Data Right, following AUSTRAC’s discovery of “potentially hundreds of millions” of dollars in suspected fraudulent loans.
Major banks also presented a united case for customer-consented ATO data sharing through the Consumer Data Right in March, saying the reform is needed to combat increasingly sophisticated AI-powered fraud.
Commenting on the risks facing the industry, Sale said the new tool was intended to support brokers’ fraud detection and verification processes without adding unnecessary complexity.
“We know our brokers are looking for practical solutions that can support stronger compliance and verification processes without adding unnecessary complexity,” she said.
“Fraud Finder has been designed to do exactly that by delivering fast, effective insights into the authenticity of key financial documents. By helping brokers identify potential concerns earlier in the process, we’re supporting greater confidence for brokers, lenders and clients alike.”
[Related: New commission platform rolled out by outsource Financial]
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