In the title industry, few transactions raise eyebrows faster than vacant land. These deals are highly susceptible to fraud, which made Manatee Title Closing Officer Nikki Vantilburg understandably cautious when a recent vacant land transaction landed on her desk. Noticing obvious warning signs about the transaction right off the bat, Nikki decided to investigate further and deploy Alliant National’s new fraud detection tool, SecureMyTransaction, as an additional safeguard. By taking these steps, she confirmed her suspicions, prevented loss and ended up being recognized by Alliant National’s crime watch program. Her example shows how combining human tenacity with technology leads to safer, more successful transactions.
A common problem
Vacant land transactions are far from uncommon in the title industry. “We get a lot of them in Citrus County,” said Vantilburg. But familiar never means free from risk. Title professionals must often apply greater scrutiny to vacant land deals than they might to other transaction types, as they often have characteristics that make them targets for fraudsters, like:
Absentee owners
Dense ownership histories
Complex zoning requirements; and
Lack of a clear title
As an experienced agent, Vantilburg is well-versed in the risks involved with processing vacant land transactions. That’s why she took particular care when examining a recent vacant lot transaction that was located not far from Manatee Title’s Florida offices.
Checking and double checking the data
The first thing Vantilburg did after opening her investigation was to double check the transaction’s information by utilizing tools and information provided by Alliant National. “We had gotten some literature and tips from Alliant National a while back, [saying to] check if there’s a [listing] agent involved and see [if] they have met the seller in person,” said Vantilburg. Connecting with the agent did little to allay her concerns, however, as they had never met the purported seller. Further digging yielded fresh red flags. These included tax documents that showed that the seller’s location was in Ontario and an ID with inconsistent fonts throughout the document.
Multiple layers of proof
Reviewing these warning signs, the Manatee Title team concluded that they likely could not move forward, and instead, would work to establish “multiple layers of proof” that the transaction was indeed fraudulent. To accomplish this, Vantilburg turned to Alliant National’s new fraud prevention and identity verification tool, SecureMyTransaction. She quickly set up the file and sent out the link to the “seller.”
“I didn’t hear anything for over 24 hours,” she said. “He then finally answers me and says, ‘You know, well, I’ve had a security compromise with my computer. So unfortunately, I can’t click on any links because it crashed my computer.’ He then sent me the same ID that he had sent to the listing agent – you know, the fake ID.”
The final straw
After taking all these steps, Vantilburg had a final card to play to establish that the transaction was fraudulent. During her initial research before deploying SecureMyTransaction, she found the obituary of the seller’s wife, which listed that she had been deceased since 2017. After the “seller” refused to engage with SecureMyTransaction and offered to send his ID instead, Vantilburg casually asked him if he and his wife would be signing the transaction documents together. He responded that they would – proving that he was a fraudster operating in bad faith. This was all Vantilburg needed to conclude her investigation, deem the transaction fraudulent and notify relevant parties.
Using all available means to defeat fraudsters
Manatee Title’s handling of this transaction serves as an informative blueprint for responding to endemic fraud within the title industry. Vantilburg’s savvy research skills provided evidence that the transaction was likely illegitimate. The seller’s unwillingness to cooperate with the agency’s fraud detection tool furthered these suspicions.
All in all, the experience showed how combining technology and old-fashioned human tenacity is a formidable way to beat fraudsters at their own game. Reflecting, Vantilburg echoed these sentiments: “Make sure the person you’re working with is doing what they are supposed to be doing. And sign up for SecureMyTransaction. If they aren’t willing to cooperate with the tool and with your efforts to secure the process, that’s a pretty big indication that there might be a problem.”
In the world of information technology, nothing stays the same for long, and that presents both challenges and opportunities. Staying current with the latest trends may be a business necessity, but it can also be a tall order to cut through the noise and implement the right solutions and systems. To make it a bit easier, we’ve compiled the top IT tips and developments you need to be aware of in 2024.
AI and cybersecurity risk
The fact that AI is at the top of the list will surprise no one. For much of 2023, the business world was abuzz about the promise of this emerging technology. In 2024, all signs point to AI becoming more and more intertwined with how companies conduct their operations. While this is largely a positive development, as AI can dramatically increase employee productivity, it does carry cybersecurity risks.
Data privacy is perhaps the most obvious concern when thinking about the intersection of AI and cybersecurity. When companies integrate programs like ChatGPT or similar technologies into their workflows, such programs may share critical data with the service provider and compromise the integrity of sensitive information. To avoid this problem, a best practice is to develop strict standards for how employees can use AI responsibly and protect personal or proprietary data. Some elements to consider including in an official policy are:
Risk assessment: Before implementing AI systems, agencies need to have a comprehensive view of their system vulnerabilities and safeguards.
Access controls: Define the roles and responsibilities of those with access to AI systems on equipment and networks.
Employee training: Consider what type of training and support staff need to leverage AI effectively without compromising cybersecurity and data safeguards.
Data protection: Clarify what type of information can be shared with AI programs and what must remain sequestered.
Remote work is here to stay
Four years on from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing is clear: remote work is here to stay. Even large companies that have publicly resisted telecommuting have begun to signal that the pre-pandemic, fully in-office model is not coming back.
This has clear implications for our industry. As more employees come to expect flexibility, companies will need to adapt their technology suites. Prioritizing connection and collaboration tools, cloud computing and advanced security solutions like endpoint threat detection can help you succeed in an era of dispersed workforces. Companies will also need to build a remote onboarding program that can help them bring new employees into the fold from anywhere.
Businesses are under ever-increasing scrutiny to incorporate social and environmental concerns into their decision-making. Naturally, this also extends to IT. By making it a priority to implement sustainable solutions into your tech stack, you will enhance your reputation and become a more attractive partner to stakeholders.
Even better, making technology decisions through a green lens is also good for a business’s bottom line. In an earlier blog I wrote, I outlined how green IT tools do more with less, leading to better productivity and lower costs.
Building durable cyber resistance
Recent cybercrimes targeting major mortgage and title companies stand as a stark reminder that criminal activities can have enormous consequences in our industry. Successful attacks can have short and long term implications – ranging from service disruption and compromised systems to stolen credentials, reputational harm and sizable monetary loss.
At Alliant National, we take such threats extremely seriously and have implemented a variety of safeguards to better protect the stakeholders who rely on us every day. Just a few of these strategies include:
Hosting our servers at a secure data center protected by redundant firewalls.
Utilizing email filtering, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and endpoint threat detection and response (EDR) software.
Routinely backing up all email accounts, documents, and mission-critical data.
Conducting quarterly and annual network penetration and phishing tests.
Deploying cloud-based solutions and software for added security.
Adhering to a strict schedule for installing security patches to all relevant tools on servers and workstations.
In the wake of recent cyber attacks in our industry, we are also moving to implement additional security tools to further solidify our defense posture. We encourage agents to take a similar approach and see the New Year as a critical time to continue moving toward what’s known as “cyber resiliency.” This involves assessing the following dimensions of your cybersecurity strategy:
Robust risk management: Tackling your organization’s security involves creating a comprehensive view of your policies, procedures, data resources, vulnerabilities and protections.
Employee investment: Strong organizational cybersecurity relies in part on employees who have been trained in industry best practices as well as organizational safeguards and procedures.
Data security and recovery: Data is an enormously valuable business asset and requires strong security protocols and a comprehensive backup strategy.
Incident response: No security system is complete without a detailed approach to incident response. That includes the software and hardware that needs to be installed across your company, a business continuity plan as well as documentation procedures.
Stay apprised of new developments to win in 2024 People always say that the one constant in life is change, and that adage applies to technology. As we move into the new year, new developments, technology solutions and tools are sure to emerge. The points that we have discussed here are a solid foundation as you start thinking about your 2024 IT strategy. At Alliant National, we are also committed to sharing relevant IT updates and tips for you to further refine your approach going forward. Keep checking in on the Alliant National Advantage blog to learn about building a solid security stack, protecting your company’s data and much more.
Virtual private networks (VPNs) are a type of technology that allow businesses like yours to secure and encrypt connections to corporate networks and resources from remote locations. If you think back to the COVID-19 pandemic and the explosion of remote work, then it becomes easy to understand why VPNs have surged in popularity in recent years. If you’re considering taking the plunge and purchasing a VPN solution for your agency, you’ll want to read on for some best practices and tips.
Why VPN?
VPNs are used across industry verticals and are particularly common in finance, healthcare and, yes, insurance. These fields routinely deal with large amounts of highly sensitive information. Ensuring data security and cyber resilience is integral to business longevity, making selecting a VPN provider a strategic business decision.
Focus on top features and industry compliance
As you explore the market, you will quickly see there are many VPN providers to choose between. Cut through the noise by focusing on key priorities and features like:
Robust encryption: Look for a VPN provider that offers 256-bit encryption, which is the industry standard for ensuring that data sent over your network is unreadable to unauthorized parties.
Secure cybersecurity protocols: Verify that your provider offers tunneling protocols like OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec or IKEv2/IPsec.
No logging: Unprotected online activity is logged by a variety of sources – including internet service providers,cookies, search engines and third-party services.A VPN service will protect you from this type of surveillance and tracking.
Any VPN you choose must also be compliant. Before implementing a service, stay apprised of all regulations that your title agency may be subject to and verify that your VPN will meet and exceed any requirements.
User management and ease of use
Ease of use and intuitive management are critical factors when considering VPNs. This goes double if you are working with a team that is heavily dispersed. Inquire with vendors about the learning curve involved with adding this tool to your security stack. Any worthwhile provider will walk you through how to set up or remove users, add permission levels or implement two-factor authentication.
Scalability and flexibility
Your business is always evolving. Therefore, you need to work with a VPN provider whose product is flexible and scalable enough to support your team as it continues to grow. Some factors to consider include:
Network capacity: You will want to inquire into any provider’s network and carrying capacity. Remind yourself to ask about how they handle fluctuations in network traffic and how they prevent service quality from degrading during periods of high use.
Remote work: Your VPN provider should also support remote work – regardless of whether your agency currently has a telecommuting policy. You need to know that your provider’s solution can handle simultaneous, dispersed connections.
Load balancing: Another critical point to investigate is load balancing and redundancy. A VPN that can scale effectively along with your business should come with strong measures in place for distributing network traffic in a way that avoids failures and downtime.
Stay safe and productive online
When your team is armed with a good VPN, they can stay productive and secure regardless of whether they are in the office or working at home. Following these tips can help you gain this additional level of protection, allowing you to then do what you do best: continuing to meet the needs of your customers.
How can you decrease your IT stack’s carbon footprint?
In a time of increasing focus on sustainable business practices, companies are rightfully looking to improve their technology suite’s energy efficiency. “Green IT” refers to environmentally friendly processes for building and maintaining an IT stack. Here, we will talk through this concept and the benefits it can deliver to your entire organization.
Devise a green IT strategy
As we’ve discussed before on this blog, making significant changes to your IT setup and infrastructure requires planning ahead of time. Green IT initiatives are no different. Begin by establishing a baseline for your energy usage and consumption. You will gain clear data that you can then use to establish green IT goals. Next, create a project plan that lists out each step you will take to achieve your objectives. A green IT project plan could include points like:
Upgrading hardware with more energy efficient models or versions. Pay close attention to where you are sourcing your IT equipment. Look for energy star-certified devices. Try to build a stack that includes upgradable design components, which will allow you to extend its total lifecycle. You can also look into buying hardware certified exclusively under the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) program.
Collaborating with hosting providers that adhere to green principles. When searching for a provider, look at things like PUE ratings, carbon offsets and more. This article offers other helpful pointers.
Ensuring your devices manage power usage effectively. The first step to maximizing how your devices use power is to create a universal policy for your agency. Then, implement it by configuring systems and enabling power-saving processes like device sleep and hibernation modes.
Considering cloud migration. Moving your IT ecosystems to the cloud offers some energy advantages over on-prem setups. These are on top of a host of other benefits cloud can bring to your business.
With any organizational initiative, your strategy and project plan should be organized around a timeline and have a clear budget attached. This will ensure that your green IT efforts continue to move forward and that your resources remain properly allocated.
Going green brings the benefits
Embracing green IT is not just about being environmentally conscious; there are other tangible benefits for businesses as well. For one thing, green IT can potentially lower your energy bills, reduce server needs and even enhance cyber resilience – lowering costly downtime in the process.
But that’s not all. Green IT usually enhances a business’s brand reputation. Customers increasingly desire to support green businesses over less environmentally friendly competitors. Data shows this is particularly true with younger consumers, as 80 percent of young U.S. adults say that they are willing to pay more for sustainable products.[i]
What’s more, green IT can help your agency become nimbler and more future-ready. Cloud computing is often part of green IT and a key technology driver behind the rise of remote work. With workers now ranking flexibility as one of their top considerations when choosing a workplace, offering telecommuting can dramatically improve recruitment and retention efforts.
Employee experience and overall satisfaction can also be impacted by creating an environmentally friendly IT suite. Green IT solutions are typically more modern and deliver a smoother working experience to employees as an auxiliary benefit. Also, being more environmentally conscious may boost employee morale. Workers often rank sustainability highly, and 80 percent claim they want to help their company reach climate or ESG goals.[ii]
Toward a greener future
Businesses are always wrestling with competing priorities – one being the need to embrace sustainability while growing productivity and profitability. The good news? With your IT suite, you can do both simultaneously. Taking a sustainable approach to your technology solutions, systems and setups will bring you tangible benefits. That makes it a goal well worth pursuing.
To obtain the greatest return from your solutions, make sure they are connected and cohesive.
When it comes to a modern tech stack, remember these words: integrations and interoperability. Why are these terms so important? Well, a connected tech stack holds undeniable advantages over segmented point solutions. In this blog, we will touch on the biggest advantages for end users, as well as how you can ensure you gain the interoperability necessary for your business to succeed.
Data-driven decision-making
The first advantage a connected tech stack offers is access to better data. The truth is data makes the business world go round. Without it, making strategic decisions about your company becomes much more difficult. An interoperable tech stack solves this problem. When your solutions are integrated, decision-makers within your organization gain real time insight from multiple sources simultaneously. This leads to quicker, more efficient, and better-informed choices on how to operate your business.
Expanded scalability
It can be tempting to think that implementing point solutions over time is the best approach for a growing business, but the reality is much more complicated. Interoperability allows you to add components or applications without disrupting the entire system, meaning you can adapt more quickly to increased workloads and larger volumes of data.
Lower costs
Prioritizing interoperability from the get-go also makes sense from a fiscal perspective. When you purchase multiple point solutions, integrating and maintaining them after the fact can quickly get pricey. With an integrated approach, you can consolidate your efforts and expedite any patches, updates or fixes much more seamlessly and at a lower cost.
Data governance
For title companies, effective and reliable data governance is a must. Yet diligently protecting sensitive customer information can be challenging without a tightly integrated tech stack. Centralizing your data allows for you to easily apply uniform data governance policies across every aspect of your organization, which, in turn, can reduce your exposure to data breaches.
How to ensure proper integration
When you embark upon a tech stack modernization project, there are a few things you need to keep in mind to maximize connectivity.
First, take a rigorous inventory of your existing systems, solutions and data pipelines so you can answer critical questions about what you need to integrate. Then, prioritize what you will tackle first by mapping them onto your respective business’s goals and needs.
Once you have the lay of the land, you can start putting together a tangible plan that describes your modernization and integration efforts in full detail. This will give you a better understanding of your timelines, resources and potential risks.
Next, work with a technology implementation partner that deploys open APIs. These interfaces promote interoperability and allow for different systems to communicate with each other and easily exchange data.
After that, collaborate with your technology vendor to develop a data-migration plan. Having a robust and well-thought-out plan is integral to mixing old and new system data and ensuring that everything synchronizes correctly.
As with any technology project, following the initial implementation period, you will want to work with your provider to test and validate your systems. This is an ideal moment to double-check that all integrations, APIs and data flows are operating as they should and that you will be able to gain maximum benefit once you go live.
In the post-go-live period, take the time to develop proper documentation and training for your staff so they can use your connected tech stack correctly and efficiently. While this step may feel cumbersome, it helps your business not only onboard existing staff but also guarantees that you can bring new hires up to speed as quickly as possible.
A connected world demands a connected tech stack
Over the last few years, the world has grown increasingly connected and complex, and the economy has certainly not been immune from this period of rapid changes. Today, both internal and external stakeholders expect that businesses will not only have the right technology infrastructure in place but that it will be cohesive and integrated in a way that allows for better service and higher levels of personalization, security and support. Prioritizing integration and interoperability at every step offers a company the best way to meet and exceed those expectations. And I can assure you: Those that do will reap the benefits.
