This is NOT Fraud Advice--Loan Stacking

Fraudsters, I can't believe it's almost August. I hope you have been safe from fraud this summer and have spent some time at the beach.

Let's chat about Loan Stacking.

Loan stacking is a process where a consumer will take out multiple loans quickly to access a large sum of money. It takes advantage of the delay in credit score updates, so you can take out large sums of money from different lenders before they notice.

Getting a loan has never been easier, with online lenders fighting for business and even advertising on social media. Many of these lenders are small and do not report to credit agencies.

If you want to eventually buy a home, it does not make sense to loan stack with your own information. So, to make some quick cash today, we need to start with a stolen identity.

For this scam, let's target elders. They are less likely to continuously monitor their credit scores and are often more susceptible to scams.

We are going to run a Medicare scam. Here are the steps:

1. Find your targets - we need the names and phone numbers of old people. Let's focus on The Villages in Florida. With 150k residents, there are plenty of opportunities. Let's look at Google Maps and find a couple of addresses.
2. Next, we will use the same software real estate property managers use to find a phone number associated with a property.
3. Let’s give them a call and follow this script: "Hi - is this {{Full Name}}? Great, this is Jackson calling from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). We have been trying to reach you about an update to your coverage plan. The email we have on file for you is {{make up some email that could make sense}}. Is this your correct email address? Oh, sorry to hear that. Must have been a mix up on our end. But we can do this over the phone, I just need to confirm a couple of details with you. Are you still at {{address}}Great. Due to a recent change in over coverage plans, you will now be eligible for a reduced Premium. Before we put through the change on our side, we just need to confirm you identity and then we can send you your updated Medicare Card. Could you please let me know of your social security number and your DOB?
4. Once someone falls for this and gives you their SSN and DOB, you have all the information you need to apply for loans.
5. Before we get there, we should open a bank account with the victim's information. We can onboard onto a regional bank in Florida online and deposit some money. Many lenders will cross-check the bank account information with the information supplied. This gets you through that check.
6. Quickly apply for multiple loans. Once the cash hits the account, send it back and forth to several other accounts before withdrawing it as cash at an ATM.

Fraudsters have continued to get more sophisticated with their attacks. For companies in the financial services industry, it has never been more important to go beyond checking the validity of the information supplied.