You start to recognize what the paystubs of the regular employers in the area look like.
...
So we get a home equity loan app. According to the app, customer works for a Company that has a pretty decent sized job force in the area with a number of nice paying jobs. Makes decent pay herself and the app is approved. I give her a phone call to go over the approval but have to leave a voice message. Customer comes into the branch. (I am back office now, so I only deal with the customers via phone and email now). So, I let the Loan Rep who the customer is sitting down with know the basics, what everything will cost, fact that we need proof of income, etc.
Customer says she has the business card for her manager and asks if Loan Rep can just call to get proof of income.
Why not? Loan Rep goes ahead and calls, and Manager verbally verifies employment, but we let both Manager and Customer know we need actual paystubs and a W-2. Can fax 'em, e-mail 'em, bring them in, however, but we need to have them.Couple of days later, appraisal is in process and Customer comes back in to the branch to the same Loan Rep with a W-2 from last year and a couple of paystubs, as requested. Paystubs show that customer is making more than she did on last year's W-2. This happens, promotions and all.
But the Loan Rep sends me this e-mail along with the proof of income.
See, remember how I said we start to get to know what certain company paystubs look like? These... they're the wrong color.
They look correct. Proper paystubs. All the right numbers and withholding fields and taxes that you would expect to see. Just... the wrong color. And... not... right. In fact, the paystubs say they are coming from the company, like the company put them together, but doesn't that company use Payroll Management to handle their payroll?
So we decide to do a little investigation. Do an EFT search on Company's direct deposits coming into the bank to get their details from a source we trust. Do a check image search to find a physical check from that company cashed at our bank. Sure enough, the check is processed by Payroll Manager, instead of the company themself. And isn't THAT interesting... when you look at the direct deposit history, apparently Company only switched to Payroll Manager around 6 months ago.
So, we decide to bring our concerns to Fraud.
Fraud contacts Company's HR.
Turns out Cusotomer used to work for Company... before she was fired.... about nine months ago.
And those "paystubs" she brought in look awfully similar to what Company's paychecks used to look like.
But it gets better.
Remember that "manager" whose business card Customer brought in to try to verify her employment at the start? Turns out Manager DOES still work for Company. And Manager was the one who Loan Rep spoke with, who "verified" Customer's employment. On a recorded line.
So, the call gets pulled, the copy of the business card (which Loan Rep kept) gets pulled and that gets sent to Fraud, who passes it all along to Company's HR.
So, the loan app is just a little denied now.
Customer's account is locked down by Fraud, all services revoked, pending Customer being kicked out of the bank. She'll probably get to withdraw the funds, or get a check mailed to her, once they verify all recent deposits are valid. Probably won't be prosecuted since there is no loss involved. If she'd managed to actually get the loan, it'd be a different story.
But Customer's friend, Manager, is having Company's HR put a case against her. We don't get the details there, but from the information their HR asked us to provide, our Fraud has no doubt that Manager is out a job.
Stupid people are stupid...