A MortgageFest Canada panel warns the fake ID on your desk may look entirely real
Artificial intelligence is producing fake identification and forged mortgage documents that brokers can no longer reliably catch with a visual check. That was the warning from a TransUnion executive at MortgageFest Canada today.
Andy Kuyper, head of partnerships and secured lending at TransUnion, told a compliance panel that the money moving through Canadian real estate has made the sector a prime target for organized crime.
"Organized crime, there's way too much money to be made in the real estate industry ... it's going to get worse. I'm telling you right now, AI is making things a lot worse," Kuyper said.
"There's fake IDs out there. If you go to the Treefort booth, they will blow your mind with the fake IDs that they're showing there. Your eyes would not be able to distinguish that this is a fake ID."
Frances Hinojosa, CEO and co-founder of Tribe Financial Group, moderated the session. It was one of several compliance sessions on the MortgageFest Canada agenda.
The morning sessions at #MortgageFest Canada 2026 delivered practical insights on market trends, lending strategies, technology, and compliance!
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) September 23, 2026
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Why AI-forged mortgage documents slip past brokers
David Carter, a partner at law firm Grechi Carter, said lawyers do a fairly good job vetting identity fraud, backed by title insurers and verification software. The weaker link is income and appraisal paperwork.
"I think on the agent side, people are very much underestimating how much AI is helping fraudsters in putting together very credible and accurate-looking documents, whether it's on the income verification side or appraisal side, and using AI as a tool to help them perpetrate these frauds," Carter said.
Credit bureau data point the same way. Equifax Canada reported in April that first-party fraud, where applicants misrepresent their own finances, rose 31% nationally year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025, even as mortgage application fraud fell 12.5%.
Read more: AI is a gamechanger for mortgages – and brokers need to get on board
How simple questions can stop mortgage fraud early
"There are pretty significant ties between mortgage fraud and organized crime. So there's a lot of money behind this. They're very sophisticated, but they also don't want to get caught," Carter said.
"We find that often asking basic, simple questions at the outset will often scare off fraudsters. They don't want to be trying to get way down the road in a deal where they're going to get caught or where it's going to come to light."
Krista Zingel, senior director of compliance and broker development at Capital Mortgages, said brokerages must match lenders' investigative muscle.
"I'm not a cop, but I've had to beef up my investigation methodology for sure. I'll tell you, lenders, they have great investigations departments in-house, right? So we have to match that as well," Zingel said.
MortgageFest Canada runs across two full days, with Women in Mortgage Summit Canada scheduled for tomorrow, Sept. 24. The two events share the International Centre venue but operate independently, giving attendees the option to attend both.
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