Our Internal Practices
We pride ourselves on the measures we take to prevent fraud. These controls affect how we process our files, disburse funds at closing, retain & store critical documents as well as manage the security of trust funds. Below are just a few of the steps we as a company have taken to protect ourselves and our secure information.
Universal Trust Account:
We have just one Trust Account for all ten of our offices. With a single Trust Account our disbursements, wires, and incoming funds are monitored by our Disbursing Agent. Electronic deposit is utilized by all offices, and we strategically have a third party conduct a daily reconciliation of our account.
Micro Shredders:
We have made this minor investment to ensure greater security with our shredded documents. Document destruction companies currently only provide cross cut shredding on site which can be pieced back together in a matter of hours. Unlike a lot of shredding done by other companies, we use a specific type of shredder (“Destroyit” by IDEAL 2604CC) that has the shredding size of 0.09” x 0.47” so that all of our documents are virtually turned into confetti. This is very important because at this size none of our documents can be pieced back together.
Background Checks:
In order to have a safe work environment we conduct background checks on all of our employees at all levels. We do this through use of Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Westlaw, statewide court, and Department of Motor Vehicles searches. In doing so we are surrounding “safe” individuals with other “safe” individuals.
SafeChecks & Uni-ball Pens:
For other secure measures we focus on using specific brands. For instance, we use SafeChecks brand checks and Uni-ball brand pens to sign those checks. SafeChecks has inventory control numbers on the back of each check. They also contain toner anchorage (chemical coating applied to paper bonds toner onto paper when printed) and warning banners (advising recipients to inspect the check before acceptance) along with thirteen other security features. Uni-ball uses a specific formulated gel ink with color pigments making it nearly impossible to ‘wash.’
Positive Pay:
This is an automated fraud detection tool we use that is offered by the Cash Management Department of most banks. We upload a file each night reflecting all checks printed during that day. It includes the account number, payee, and the amount of the check. If checks clear and the information is different than what was uploaded it becomes an exception and will not be paid without our authorization. This allows us immediate knowledge of any fraud rather than waiting until the bank statements/copies of cleared checks are available.
Protection for Brokers and Loan Officers