subject: Did Bank of America Try to Hide Your Foreclosure Information? [print this page] Did Bank of America Try to Hide Your Foreclosure Information?
A former Bank of America employee provided a hacker group, known as Anonymous, with a series of emails claiming they prove how a former subsidiary of the bank tried to hide information regarding potential illegal foreclosures. A member of Anonymous focused on the point that the system followed by banks is made to deceive the average- individual. Balboa Insurance, the bank division in question, seems to be making an effort to hide foreclosure data. The Bank of America leaked emails included discussions between Balboa employees about altering mortgage tracking numbers on specific loan documents. Bank of America claims the documents were not tied to the foreclosures, and were stolen by a former employee.It also seems employees at Balboa have information about force-placed insurance scams used to deceive borrowers. If these scams are proven, companies like Bank of America would be exposed to more lawsuits with investors because they may be pushing borrowers into illegal foreclosures. Force-placed insurance is a policy put in place when homeowners begin missing payments on the insurance policy that is required for their mortgage, and the lender may purchase insurance on the property on behalf of the borrower.The borrower is then charged for the insurance from their lender, and the rate is always more expensive than it was originally. Leaving homeowners with little protection from foreclosure, this puts more stress on them as borrowers.The situation gets more interesting because Bank of America owns the insurance company, or Balboa. It seems both companies were allowing mortgage tracking errors to occur, because it seemed like a common occurrence in the Bank of America leaked emails. This allowed Balboa and Bank of America to force-placed insurance policies on borrowers, therefore potentially pushing them into illegal foreclosures.Back-dating insurance by up to 9 months is another scam accomplished through force-placed insurance companies, such as Balboa. Homeowners are then billed by insurance companies for insurance they didn't have. Because the covered period has long past, no claims can be filed. This is a scam yo to watch out for if you have ever had unexplained charges that show up on your mortgage after missing a couple payments, but then the outstanding balance comes up as more than your original mortgage.By filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you may be able to save your home if you are worried you are being pushed into foreclosure.
