Toronto Police are reporting a fraud and are seeking two suspects for pretending to be the owners of a home to get the proceeds of a $200,000 second mortgage. The isn’t much in the police to say just what kind of phony identification was used by the couple. Presumably it was more than just a credit card. The scam was put over on a private mortgage broker. A trip to the home and a word with the neighbors might have been a good idea. Presumably broker checked to see if people by that name were the registered owners of the Scarborough home. He then found a lender who advanced the funds. A couple of months later the real owner was told he was being sued for non-payment of the mortgage instalments. All of this suggests how important it is for lenders to know exactly with whom they are dealing. It would be almost impossible to get a mortgage from a chartered bank unless you were an account holder and thus well-known to the bank. Pictures of the two suspects are below.
