| Volume 142 Number 3 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Phishing is when someone uses fake emails or texts – even phone calls – to get you to share valuable personal information, like account numbers, Social Security numbers, or your login IDs and passwords. Scammers use this information to steal your money, your identity, or both. Click here for more.
Scams to Avoid This Tax Season
If the phone rings and you think the person on the other end of the line is an imposter, you’re probably right. Scams, which include those from fraudsters claiming to be from the IRS, the Social Security Administration, and other government agencies, try to get people to turn over personal information as well as money. With tax season now here, the Internal Revenue Service says it pays to be aware of scams that could target your money or identity. Click here for more.
Your Money
You may take out a loan fully prepared to pay it back, but your plans may not go according to schedule. You miss one payment, then another, and before you know it, you've landed in default. The most immediate damage can involve your credit score, but there are other financial consequences that can follow a loan default, including a collection lawsuit and wage garnishment. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Fannie Mae is not a Credit reporting Agency. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted summary judgment in favor of Fannie Mae in an action brought by a consumer alleging that Fannie Mae violated the California Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCCRA) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by prohibiting lenders from providing consumers a copy of Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter (DU) report. Upon reviewing Fannie Mae’s motion for summary judgment, the court noted that in order for the consumer to succeed on his CCRA and FCRA claims, he must establish Fannie Mae is a “credit reporting agency.” The court rejected the consumer’s attempts to distinguish his case from the recent 9th Circuit decision in Zabriskie v. Fed. Nat’l Mortg. Ass’n, which held that Fannie Mae was not a credit reporting agency under the FCRA. The court acknowledged that even though Fannie Mae may have problems with its foreclosure recommendations in the DU system, it does not undercut the conclusion that Fannie Mae operates the DU system to assist lenders in making purchasing decisions, does not “regularly engage in . . . the practice of assembling or evaluating” consumer information, and therefore, is not a credit reporting agency. JAMES BANNECK v. FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION, 17-cv-04657-WHO, (N.D. Cal 2019) Click here for more.