Several mortgage brokerages need to better secure their customers' personal information from theft, Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said yesterday in a report.
Several mortgage brokerages need to better secure their customers' personal information from theft, Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said yesterday in a report.
The release consisted of a five brokerage audit to see what measures had been taken since incidents in 2008 left hundreds of their clients' private finances vulnerable to theft.
"The breaches prompted the brokerages to take some positive steps to better protect personal information. However, our audit found that those changes did not go far enough," said Stoddart.
A lack of access security in a web-based system that allows agents to download the credit reports of hundreds, including people who have never applied for a mortgage, was one of the concerns cited, Reuters reports.
Other problems included one brokerage storing private information in an unsecured parking garage, lackluster privacy training programs and one agent recycling used mortgage applications.
Stoddart launched an investigation after the brokerages reported 14 suspicious breaches in the span of a few months two years ago.
“In each case, someone impersonating an experienced mortgage agent downloaded credit reports for people who hadn’t even applied for a mortgage,” she said.
The brokerages, which were not named due to ongoing criminal investigations, have tightened hiring practices since the incidents.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received reports from over 11,000 people last year. Losses from ID theft came to more than $10 million.
Read Stoddart's full audit on selected mortgage brokers.
MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA WEB EXCLUSIVE: CMP staff writer Heather Li talks to Greg Viger, accredited mortgage professional with Dominion Lending Centres Financial Ltd., about mortgage brokers protecting their clients' information.
MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA WEB EXCLUSIVE: CMP reporter Nick Lypaczewski talks to River City Financial Services president David Armstrong about his reaction to Stoddart's security concerns.
