Fraud is everywhere, but the New England area in particular seems to be getting hammered with HELOC fraud. We're looking to make impactful changes to the way our customers access their lines to protect us (and them), so I'm looking for ideas. What kinds of things are you doing to prevent fraud losses tied to HELOCs and what customer notification was required? Do you allow checks? What about pre-authorizations to access funds? Etc.

Thanks in advance!

I've seen HELOC checks being eliminated with consumers being directed to online transfers from the line to their checking account. However, this was done not so much for fraud as for streamlining processes.

Thanks Paul!

We no longer offer checks on new LOCs; existing customers can still use their checks. I believe if the LOC is renegotiated then they will lose the check writing capability; they must either go to a branch and obtain a cashier's check or have advances go into a bank account at our bank.