As interest rates climb and credit tightens, prospective auto loan borrowers are increasingly resorting to fraudulent tactics to secure loans. This alarming trend not only poses significant risks to lenders but also casts a shadow over the entire auto industry. According to recent findings from autoremarketing.com, the Cox Automotive Dealertrack Auto Credit Availability Index has signaled a concerning downturn in credit access for auto loan borrowers. With the Index dropping to 93.0 in January and marking the lowest level since August 2020, it’s evident that securing auto financing has be ..read more

Changing market conditions have revealed an abundance of founder fraud, resident fraud expert Frank McKenna recently wrote in his blog, Frank on Fraud The early 2020s witnessed a remarkable period of expansion in the Fintech sector, characterized by a flurry of investment activity and soaring valuations. This era was marked by a buoyant atmosphere, akin to a celebratory party where optimism abounded, and every startup seemed to achieve unicorn status. However, as the Federal Reserve initiated a series of interest rate hikes beginning in March 2022, the landscape shifted abruptly. The subsequen ..read more

Each year, Point Predictive’s Frank McKenna teams up with Mary Ann Miller, of the identity verification platform Prove, and Karisse Hendrick, of Chargelytics Consulting, to discuss what they anticipate to be the upcoming year’s fraud trends. From tactics to targets, learn what some of the industry’s most prominent experts are thinking about as we enter 2024.  1. ‘Inny’ Fraud Unveiled  A surge in “Inny” perpetrated fraud — fraud perpetrated by or with the help of business insiders — will continue to propagate across various sectors, from banks to online retailers. Insiders recruited t ..read more

For Point Predictive, 2023 was a year of remarkable achievements, reinforcing our status as industry pioneers in the consumer lending technology sector.  LendTech of the Year Award: Setting the Standard  Point Predictive clinched the prestigious LendTech of the Year award at the 2023 US Fintech Awards. This recognition validates the company’s leadership and establishes a new industry benchmark for swift and precise consumer lending decisions. The award reflects Point Predictive’s dedication to transforming automated loan approval while minimizing fraud-related losses.  Groundbre ..read more

More prospective borrowers are resorting to fraud in the face of fewer auto financing options.  Auto financing was harder to come by in November, according to the team over at autoremarketing.com in a recent article (Auto credit tightens in November).   The article referred to the Cox Automotive Dealertrack Auto Credit Availability Index, which accounts for changes in approval rates, subprime shares, yield spreads, and contract details, including term length, negative equity, and down payments, reflects credit access for auto loan borrowers. Shifts in its underlying criteria poi ..read more

A new “Car Gang” is reinventing how car buyers engage in synthetic identity fraud, according to a recent article by Frank on Fraud.  Operating on Telegram and Facebook, the Car Gang offers buyers a convenient way to commit fraud. For a flat fee, they create a synthetic identity that can secure favorable financing. While customers are complicit in and ostensibly aware of the scam, they can take a hands-off approach by outsourcing to these experienced fraudsters.  The group touts its experience using credit privacy numbers (CPNs), a telltale sign of synthetic identity fraud. A CPN is ..read more

Point Predictive’s Chief Fraud Strategist Frank McKenna recently penned a commentary piece for Auto Remarketing, a periodical covering the pre-owned auto industry. In it, he discusses the rise of shell companies and fake employer scams and how Point Predictive’s approach can combat them. Fake employers have become an increasingly vexing problem for financial institutions and other lenders, Frank writes. While some “fake employers” are legitimate companies who become unwitting accomplices in a fraudster’s scheme, others are complete fabrications. Unscrupulous scammers invent these employers, so ..read more

By Don Hoegg, Jr., Fintech Writer Mergers and acquisitions, accompanied by lending-oriented growth strategies, have been a boon for credit unions in recent years. As credit unions continue to evolve, they can leverage cutting-edge technology to roll out the red carpet for borrowers like never before — for new and long-time members alike.  Consolidations have reduced the number of credit unions by about 25% over the past 10 years. This has coincided with a doubling in assets under management (AUM) over the same period. Increased auto lending, including third-party lending, in particular, h ..read more

Sets a New Industry Standard for Faster and More Accurate Consumer Lending Decisions  SAN DIEGO, CA – November 7, 2023 – Point Predictive, the leader in artificial intelligence (“AI”) fraud solutions for the consumer lending industry, has been recognized with the prestigious LendTech of the Year award at the 2023 US Fintech Awards. This award is a testament to Point Predictive’s dedication to innovation and excellence in the fintech and lending industry, and it underscores the company’s pivotal role in transforming the industry’s lending decision automation and fraud detection and prevent ..read more

The world of lending is riddled with various forms of fraud, posing significant risks to lenders and distorting the financial ecosystem. Among these is first-party fraud, often referred to as “Fraud for Car” in the auto world.  This category of fraud involves borrowers who misrepresent information to gain loan approval. The implications of such actions, even when not driven by malicious intent, are serious and multifaceted. First-party fraud in lending manifests in several distinct ways, each with its own characteristics and implications: Income Misrepresentation: This involves the intent ..read more