TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/1285919
6 | M R EP O RT MTECH various forms of business email compromise. Wire fraud and other malicious email activity such as ransomware is ultimately less a technology is- sue and more a social engineering exercise, Phillips explained. There are no network plug-ins, antivirus software, or firewalls to solve the problem. "The criminals' targets are re- ally people," he said. According to Phillips, there are three ingredients criminals need to get individuals to unwittingly participate in successful wire fraud: a sudden change; a sense of urgency; and a potential positive or negative consequence. "The pandemic has provided sudden change in virtually every- one's life, and a sense of urgency is inherent in every real estate transaction or loan application, even given 30-, 60-, or 90-day escrows," he said. "The only ingredient needed is the third one: consequence. A negative conse- quence might come in an email appearing to be from a buyer's escrow company and warning of problems with the escrow ac- count. 'We need to change escrow accounts if we want to close on schedule, so send the money to this new account.' "Under the gun," he contin- ues, "a buyer may quickly do that, trusting the hijacked email address is valid, and forever lose hundreds of thousands of dollars." A positive consequence might also come from an apparently trustworthy address, alerting the buyer that the end of a month is especially busy and, if they'll wire the money immediately, they'll avoid the crunch and the escrow officer will take $100 off the clos- ing fees. Unfortunately, it's not the escrow officer actually sending this malicious email. Advancements in RPA HYLAND ANNOUNCED ITS ACQUISITION OF ANOTHER MONDAY, A GERMAN- BASED ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION SOFTWARE DEVELOPER. H yland, a content services provider, announced its acquisition of Another Monday, a German-based robotic process automation (RPA) soft- ware developer. The addition of a feature-rich, end-to-end RPA software solution that is highly configurable extends Hyland's process automation capabilities and strengthens its content ser- vices product portfolio. Another Monday was posi- tioned as a Visionary by Gartner in the Magic Quadrant for Robotic Process Automation Software 2019. Its four comple- mentary software products will enable Hyland's customers to aug- ment existing process automation solutions with innovative RPA functionality. "Adding RPA to Hyland's con- tent services platform extends and augments our low-code process automation offerings, enabling a next level of digital transforma- tion to all of our customers," said Bill Priemer, President and CEO of Hyland. "We look forward to getting to know our Another Monday colleagues, welcoming our new customers and partners to the Hyland community, and incorpo- rating this powerful technology into our existing solutions." "The RPA market is an excit- ing and challenging space with rapid growth and a vast num- ber of possible applications that organizations can easily combine and integrate for better and more flexible business processes sup- port," said Hans Martens, CEO of Another Monday. "We see Hyland as the best fit to embed our RPA technology into their powerful automation platform, to truly implement easy, end-to-end automation for everyone." Creating Opportunities Within the Mortgage Broker Channel RE/MAX HOLDINGS HAS ACQUIRED AN INNOVATIVE FINTECH COMPANY THAT PROVIDES THIRD-PARTY MORTGAGE LOAN PROCESSING SERVICES. R E/MAX Holdings, Inc.— parent company of RE/ MAX, a franchisor of real estate brokerage services, and Motto Mortgage, the first nation- al mortgage brokerage franchise brand in the U.S.—announced the acquisition of wemloSM, an innovative fintech company that provides third-party mortgage loan processing services. The 20-month-old, Florida-based startup is reshaping mortgage loan processing in the mortgage broker channel. Wemlo developed the first "Service Cloud" for mortgage brokers, combining third-party loan processing with an all-in-one digital platform. Its product offers the only enterprise-grade solu- tion of its kind in the mortgage brokerage space. "The acquisition of wemlo is an investment in our high-growth Motto Mortgage business, as it helps address one of the mortgage brokerage channel's biggest pain points—ineffective mortgage loan processing," said Adam Contos, CEO of RE/MAX Holdings. "This tuck-in acquisition also diversifies our revenue and growth opportuni- ties, reinforcing our M&A strategy of adding innovative companies that deliver value and improve the customer experience." David Rogove, a wemlo co- founder, said the acquisition will help wemlo scale and grow its operations across the mortgage broker channel. "Our platform is a streamlined solution that offers a better way to manage mortgage loan processing, and we're excited that its impact will expand across the country," Rogove said. The product's underlying technology makes it easy to use, wemlo co-founder Steven Gelley added. "The platform has automated tasks and an intuitive framework, enabling loan processors of any experience level to manage the workflow, and provide a high level of service to the loan origi- nators they support," Gelley said. Ward Morrison, President of Motto Franchising, LLC, noted that by increasing the speed and efficiency of mortgage loan processing, the acquisition will elevate the customer experience for borrowers served by Motto Mortgage offices, which in turn can help Motto Mortgage fran- chises expand their business. "Motto Franchising and wemlo are trailblazers that share a pas- sion for the mortgage brokerage channel. Combining forces was an opportunity we didn't want to miss," Morrison said. "The acqui- sition will create more competitive advantages for Motto Mortgage franchises. Moreover, due to the demand for quality processing support in the mortgage broker channel, wemlo will keep serving its clients and continue to market its end-to-end solution throughout the mortgage brokerage industry." According to Phillips, there are three ingredients criminals need to get individuals to unwittingly participate in successful wire fraud: a sudden change; a sense of urgency; and a potential positive or negative consequence.