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Data released by Equifax’s Mortgage Broker - Pulse Survey for 2024 has shown that 26 per cent of brokers have reported that they’ve been affected by scams over the past year.
The survey examined the different methods by which brokers were scammed, with the results ranging from basic phishing to more complex fraud schemes that targeted broker-client relationships.
Brokers reported that scam calls, emails, and text messages were the most common forms of scam encountered, which were followed by email scams by “more sophisticated” scammers who posed as industry professionals in order to obtain customer data or money from brokers.
According to Equifax, 87 per cent of brokers completed fraud awareness training in the past 12 months and 63 per cent of brokerages confirmed that they include fraud awareness and training as part of their employee onboarding process.
As a result, over 90 per cent of brokers surveyed said they consider their ability to keep customer data secure as “excellent” or “good”.
The data also revealed that 60 per cent of brokers relied on the help of external third-party providers, such as aggregators, lenders, and IT service provider, for fraud protection assistance.
Moses Samaha, Equifax’s executive general manager, said ongoing awareness and training are “creating higher confidence in brokers’ ability to keep customer data safe”.
“However, most brokers still wear multiple hats and are aware of how rapidly fraud threats evolve,” Samaha said.
“As a result, many brokers are seeking external support to minimise fraud and security risk by outsourcing this important task to professionals.”
Furthermore, the survey also collected responses from consumers, which revealed that 60 per cent of respondents have been impacted by frauds or scams or knew someone who was.
The survey highlighted, however, that only half of consumer respondents felt that their data is only “somewhat safe” with brokers and lenders and 60 per cent were unsure of how their data is being used by brokers and lenders, leading to concerns from said consumers.
In order to mitigate these fears, communication about procedures and education on data safety were among the top two ways brokers and lenders can guarantee their customers felt more confident about keeping their data safe.
Samaha said: “There’s a clear opportunity for brokers to work more closely with their customers to ensure they feel confident about the protection and management of their personal data.
“The majority of brokers (70 per cent) and consumers (75 per cent) agree that everyone plays a role in keeping data safe, so active collaboration is vital if brokers are to remain trusted advisors to their customers.”
[RELATED: ‘Every day an average of 20 investment scam websites are taken down’, says ASIC]
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