BioSig-ID gesture authentication reveals cheating in mortgage licensing education

Biometric Signature ID says its gesture-based biometric password system BioSig-ID revealed hundreds of cheating cases from mortgage loan officers (MLOs) who said they completed their annual continuing education tests as part of U.S. federal and state law.

In January, the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System announced that it reached settlements with over 400 MLOs across 42 states with 44 agencies over violations of the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (SAFE Act). The SAFE Act requires “minimum standards for the licensing and registration of state-licensed mortgage loan originators”, and every state requires MLOs to have at least 20 hours of pre-licensing education and an annual eight hours of continuing education.

A press release says that irregular education activity was discovered through a gesture-based authentication tool from Biometric Signature ID, that requires users to write their signatures as a password rather than type in, prior to taking the tests. The authenticated signature would then allow access to course content and exams to prevent others from fraudulently taking the tests on behalf of another individual. The company says that the signatures were analyzed by AI and forensics against millions of authentications that showed the ongoing cheating patterns.

As part of the settlement, the MLOs are said to have surrendered their licenses for a period of three months, pay a fine of $1,000 for each state in which he or she holds a license and take continuing education beyond federal and state SAFE Act requirements.

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which led the settlement, said through Commissioner Clothilde V. Hewlett that, “California will continue to lead on efforts that protect consumers and ensure fairness and resilience in our markets. I am proud of the Department and the historic 44 state-agency effort that, with these actions, remind the mortgage industry of their obligations to be ethical, honest and forthright.”

Article Topics

AI  |  authentication  |  Biometric Signature ID  |  biometrics  |  education  |  fraud prevention  |  gesture recognition