How do big companies keep their employees from stealing private data? They don't. That is one of the reasons millions of Americans have been victims of identity theft. Think about it. Thieves want to work at places where social security numbers waft through the air. A person inside a company can easily download private information. The reality is that when you input your private financial information into a submission form, it exists somewhere on a server. A person in the right position can access that information.

Below is a good example of why you should be careful when applying for a mortgage online. One way to protect yourself is to do business with a professional — not a big company with a sleek lead capture system. If you do decide to complete an online mortgage application, it is better to first establish a relationship with your mortgage broker, so that you have a level of trust with the person receiving your private information.

 

From LendingTree:

Dear LendingTree Customer:

We want you to know that some loan request forms our customers sent to LendingTree may have been seen by lenders without our consent. These lenders then used the forms to market their own mortgage loans to our customers. While we don’t believe that the forms were used for any other purpose, we want you to know what happened and what we did to correct this situation, as well as what you can do to monitor your credit records.

What Happened and What We Did

Recently, LendingTree learned that several former employees may have helped a handful of mortgage lenders gain access to LendingTree’s customer information by sharing confidential passwords with the lenders. When we learned of this situation, we quickly contacted the authorities, and LendingTree is helping with their investigation. We promptly made several system security changes. We also brought lawsuits against those involved.
Based on our investigation, we understand that these mortgage lenders used the passwords to access LendingTree’s customer loan request forms, normally available only to LendingTree-approved lenders, to market loans to those customers. The loan request forms contained data such as name, address, email address, telephone number, Social Security number, income and employment information. We believe these lenders accessed LendingTree’s loan request forms between October 2006 and early 2008.

What You Can Do

Again, we don’t believe any identity theft or fraudulent financial activity resulted from this situation. However, we suggest you get a free credit report. Look for any accounts you didn’t open and/or inquiries from creditors that you didn’t initiate. If you see anything you don’t understand, contact the credit bureau. If you see anything suspicious, you may want to file a fraud alert with the bureaus. For more information on how to do this, please refer to LendingTree’s Guide to Protecting Your Credit and Identity.

Where to Get More Information

We regret any inconvenience and apologize for any unwanted mortgage calls you may have received. For more information about this situation, and for more information on what you can do, please refer to the attached Questions & Answers.

Sincerely,

R.L. Harris

 

Note that Lending Tree recommends their customers obtain their credit report to "look for any accounts you didn't open and/or inquiries from creditors that you didn't initiate." Translation: Lending Tree cannot do anything about the breach of security — and you're on your own to clean up the mess, if there is a mess to clean up.

Wade Young

Red Door Home Loans

650 South Cherry Street, Ste 100

Denver, CO 80246

303.800.3648