According to an article posted on the Illinois Coalition of Appraisal Professional (ICAP) web site, on August 31st, Freddie Mac made the following change to its seller requirements regarding Faxing and other electronic transmission of appraisal and inspection reports.
Section 44.21 has been revised to provide additional guidance regarding the receipt of appraisal and inspection reports via fax transmission or other means of electronic transmission.
"Effective immediately, a Seller must ensure that the appraiser’s systems, processes and procedures for creating, signing, transmitting, sending, storing and maintaining electronic or fax copies of appraisal or inspection reports are safe, sound and secure."
Revised Section 44.21 also requires that a Seller/Servicer notify Freddie Mac immediately if it becomes aware of the unauthorized or improper use of the appraiser’s signature in connection with any appraisal or inspection report submitted as an Electronic Record or as a fax copy or suspects there has been an unauthorized alteration of an appraisal or inspection report, including photographs and other supporting materials submitted as an Electronic Record or as a fax copy.
Jacqueline Doty, Freddie Mac's Collateral Policy Director, says the agency's Institutional Investigation Unit is observing more and more instances of appraiser identity theft and altered appraisal reports, which she says are due, in part, to appraisers not taking proper precautions to protect their own signature and lock the report. "A fraudster discovers this and seizes the opportunity," she said. One remedy used by Freddie Mac is to exclude the perpetrator from doing business with Freddie Mac.
In the future, Freddie Mac may also exercise this remedy option against a negligent appraiser for failure to maintain adequate controls over the safeguarding and protection of their signatures.
Some examples of such negligence cited by Doty include:
- storing appraiser signatures on a shared computer directory, which allows a person with access to the shared directory unlimited access;
- supervisory appraisers who give access to a trainee, who then prepares reports that supervisor claims he/she never signed;
- and appraisers who give out their computer password or leave their password on a note stuck to their computer monitor, etc.
Article Source: Illinois Coalition of Appraisal Professionals (ICAP) Thanks to T.J. McCarthy for sending along this article to its members.
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