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#1005517 - 07/25/08 10:26 PM Risk Mitigation for Change of Address
risk08 Offline
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 16
I'm trying to think a mitigation (other than customer signature) for customer change of address. Does anyone have any ideals or procedures they use other than customer signature? Any suggestions are welcome!

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Risk Management
#1006638 - 07/28/08 11:29 PM Re: Risk Mitigation for Change of Address risk08
Dazed and Confused Offline
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Dazed and Confused
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 250
Big XII South
Your bank could send an address change verification letter to the customer with "return service requested" on the envelope. You would not necessarily have to get the customer to sign and return the letter, but rather you could rely on the post office to verify the address for you. If the mailing address is not correct for the customer, then the post office is required to return the mail to the bank (if you mark the envelope with "return service reqeusted"). With this scenario, you are relying on the post office to return the mail if the address is in fact incorrect.

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#1007555 - 07/29/08 08:27 PM Re: Risk Mitigation for Change of Address Dazed and Confused
risk08 Offline
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 16
Thanks so much for the ideal. Do you require a signature at your institution?

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#1007723 - 07/30/08 01:47 AM Re: Risk Mitigation for Change of Address risk08
Dazed and Confused Offline
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Dazed and Confused
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 250
Big XII South
I don't work at a banking institution; rather, I observed this "verification" process in practice at other institutions. Most of these banks were community banks, and most of them required a signature (presuming they did not previously verify the customer's identity over the phone via challenge questions, etc.).

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#1009295 - 07/31/08 07:09 PM Re: Risk Mitigation for Change of Address Dazed and Confused
Jerseygirl Offline
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 684
Jersey Shore
We send a letter to the old address asking the customer to contact us if in fact they didn't recently change their address and a letter to the new address thanking them for updating the information.

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#1011843 - 08/04/08 07:13 PM Re: Risk Mitigation for Change of Address Jerseygirl
risk08 Offline
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 16
Thanks for the input. It is appreciated!!

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#1011844 - 08/04/08 07:13 PM Re: Risk Mitigation for Change of Address Jerseygirl
risk08 Offline
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 16
Thanks for the input. It is appreciated!!

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#1024487 - 08/20/08 08:29 PM Re: Risk Mitigation for Change of Address Jerseygirl
etm614 Offline
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etm614
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 695
Massachusetts
I used to think that this is what we should do but I am now having a hard time understanding how it identifies fraudulent address changes. If someone submits a fraudulent name change to the P.O. and we get a returned monthly statement with the new address listed, how would I then get a letter delivered to the old address to verify that it was valid? Won't the P.O. just return this letter to us too? What is the specific phrasing on the envelope that would ensure that it gets delivered to the old address and not forwarded to the new fraudulent address? I don't believe that the P.O. verifies ID when accepting address change cards, so it scares me to rely on them. This is a hot topic at my institution as we have a growing list of accounts flagged as "do not mail".

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#1024551 - 08/20/08 09:31 PM Re: Risk Mitigation for Change of Address etm614
Rocky P Offline
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 7,650
Florida
If there is a change of address with the PO, then ALL of the mail would be forwarded. After a few days, if the person is still living at the home, they might question that something is wrong.

If there is a legitimate change of address, and the bank mails one notice each to the old and new addresses, the customer will be getting the one for the new address first, followed closely by the forwarded envelope.

You may want to contact your local postmaster or postal inspector to see how address changes are handled locally.
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#1034038 - 09/03/08 08:37 PM Re: Risk Mitigation for Change of Address Rocky P
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How about still getting the customer signature, but either sending the customer a form or having a downloadable form on your website?

Customer signs and gets notarized and sends backto bank.
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With the lights out, it's less dangerous.

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