Mortgage Files Left for Dumpster Diving Identity Thieves

The Wall Street Journal is reporting on a growing cause for concern; your confidential financial information left on the street, by mortgage loan middlemen caught up in the turmoil of the credit crunch.   Amid layoffs, shuttered offices and looking for new jobs, many brokers and agents have failed to take even the most basic precautions (a $39 shredder from Staples) to protect their clients from fraud.

One Indianapolis reporter trolled the back alleys and trash bins behind loan offices and title companies and found that nearly half contained sensitive borrower information ripe for the picking.

Although obviously a bigger concern now with so many mortgage brokers going belly-up, this is not a new phenomenon.  The National Association for Information Destruction has an online newsroom full of articles documenting boxes of mortgage files, sometimes years old, turning up in recycling bins and other public places.

So as with all financial transactions, deal only with reputable firms that have been around for a while, and will be around for a while.  Or at least use that Lifelock guy's Social Security number on your loan application.  (If you didn't already know, it's 457-55-5462.)