A massive HELOC fraud ring was recently shut down by the federal government, after millions in losses.

Dark Reading reports:

“Federal agencies said Monday they have arrested three members of an identity theft ring that has stolen more than $2.5 million by fraudulently accessing home equity lines of credit…

HELOCs are an attractive target for criminals, because many individuals sign up for such lines of credit as a hedge against emergencies and don’t ever use them, Liebermann observes. Many HELOCs involve large amounts of credit, because banks and financial insititutions generally offer lower rates on higher amounts of credit, he notes. If a customer has not used a HELOC, most banks do not send out a statement. And if a criminal can successfully break into an account and change the address to which statements are sent, that customer could go for many months without being aware that any activity is taking place.”

Yet another reminder to constantly monitor your home equity account and check your credit regularly, even if you don’t have a HELOC.

See Also:

Home Equity Line Thieves

New Program Detects HELOC Application Fraud

Home Equity Lines Targeted

Tags | Heloc, heloc fraud, home equity line of credit