Use an old Bartender trick to spot Fraud

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy T-day and also share a quick tip as we enter the rush to get transactions closed before year end. You are probably wondering from the title how can a bartender spot fraud and how this can help you prevent fraud? This could also be an interesting conversation starter at the Thanksgiving table (albeit a bit awkward if you asked your daughters new boyfriend)

In the old days most driver’s license numbers were also the person’s social security number (fortunately the DMVs have figured out with all the identity theft that this is a bad idea). Based on the first three numbers of a person’s SS you can determine allot about a person.

What information can you learn without even pulling a credit report?

How did a bartender use this information to screen patrons?

The first 3 numbers prior to 2011 signifies where a person was born and their SS number was issued. In the old days bouncers could pretty readily spot fake ids (before the google age and everyone had this information) by looking at the license and asking where the person was from, for example if the person said they were from Vermont, but the first three letters were 253, it was clear the person was lying (253 was issued to residents born in Georgia).

What does this have to do with real estate? When I meet a borrower, one of the questions I always ask is where they are from (fortunately all our borrowers were born well before 2011). For many mortgage brokers, this information is especially useful since the first three numbers can tell you quickly if the borrower is legitimate before a credit report is even pulled.

Below is a list from the SS administration of all the prefixes and the associated states. This is just one way to fight identity theft/fraud. Here is a link to another site to look at if you have the full SS and want to see if it is valid: http://socialsecuritynumerology.com/prefixes.php

Written by: Glen Weinberg: COO/Partner Fairview Commercial Lending

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