Keyboard robbers steal 171K customers' data from AnnieMac mortgage house

A major US mortgage lender has told customers looking to make the biggest financial transaction of their lives that an intruder broke into its systems and saw data belonging to 171,000 of them.

American Neighborhood Mortgage Acceptance Company, which trades as AnnieMac Home Mortgage, said between August 21 and 23, an unknown intruder "viewed and/or copied" some customer data.

The affected data types include names and social security numbers (SSNs), and as ever with these kinds of disclosures, AnnieMac said it currently had "no evidence" to suggest that data has been abused on the dark web (which only means no one has found copies of it there) or otherwise.

"The confidentiality, privacy, and security of personal information within our care are among AnnieMac's highest priorities," letters to affected customers read. "Upon becoming aware of this event, we promptly commenced an investigation and response that included confirming the security of our systems, investigating to determine the information that may be impacted, and reviewing the contents of relevant data for sensitive information. 

"As part of our ongoing commitment to the privacy of information in our care, we have implemented additional security measures to further protect against similar incidents occurring in the future. We also reported this event to applicable state and federal government regulators."

Affected individuals were offered the usual 12 months of credit monitoring and identity theft protection from a credit monitoring company – CyEx, in this case.

The New Jersey-based mortgage lender operates across the US and offers conventional mortgage products as well as more niche offerings that appeal to home buyers with specific circumstances, such as lower incomes or less favorable credit ratings.

For example, its OneUP program is available for those who earn less than the median income in their area. 

It allows buyers to secure a home with just a 1 percent down payment, while AnnieMac provides additional non-repayable funds, such as 2 percent of the property's value or up to $2,000, to help buyers get on the property ladder.

The lender also offers government-backed Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans to those with credit scores of 550. Typically, the FHA loan program allows those with 580 scores to access credit as long as they put a 3.5 percent deposit down.

Industry reviewers say the program also technically accepts those with 550 scores if they can put down a 10 percent deposit, but many lenders turn these applicants away regardless. AnnieMac, however, holds firm and offers credit under the same conditions.

It also has various other schemes designed to ease the financial burden for buyers and sellers, such as temporary interest rate easing or accessing a home's equity built over time.

Regarding the breach, the affected data types only include names and SSNs, which, in the wider context of data leaks, is concerning but not as extensive as it could have been. Less than a year ago, Mr. Cooper, another US mortgage lender, disclosed a more significant attack affecting 14.7 million of its customers.

The compromised data in that case included addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, and bank account numbers, alongside names and SSNs, making it more severe in scope than AnnieMac's leak.

Nonetheless, the exposure of SSNs still poses a risk, as miscreants could exploit this information to take out credit, potentially damaging the scores of customers with already middling credit. The incident raises questions about how individuals considered to be more financially unstable than others may fare in the longer term. ®