It's not all lost though. We may be Clark Kent sitting behind the desk, but we do have the ability to stop the crime before us – it's our duty. Cape up my friends and take these steps to fighting the mortgage fraud before you.

1. Build a team of super heroes. First thing first, you've got to have a team you trust. Whether you have a full team of heroes in your branch or if you outsource the function, they've got to be people you can trust and rely on to protect your credit union. 

If you are selling direct, you have extra risk on your plate. You don't want to purchase loans back if you don't have to, so make sure your team is in place and fully aware of what needs to happen.

2. Suit up. Every super hero needs a slew of specialty gear that will protect them. With fighting mortgage fraud, it's training. You want your team to know what the red flags are and you want them to be able to use that knowledge to detect and prevent anything fraudulent from going to closing. There are a slew of fraudulent schemes out there too. Teach them to your team and help keep them front of mind. You might do that by including some quizzes during a staff meeting or host a fun game like Mortgage Fraud Jeopardy so they can learn what the schemes are and how to detect them. Once a year digital training isn't going to cut it. Knowledge is power and it will arm your team to fight off fraud.

3. Find a technology sidekick. Thankfully, we live in a time where technology can also be our trusty sidekick in detecting crime. CU Members Mortgage uses special fraud protection technology as one of our many steps to ensure our loans are legit. CoreLogic offers LoanSafe Fraud Manager. If you aren't using it or something like it, you are taking a big risk. Check out your options and get them in place.

4. Know your bat signal. In this case, know the red flags. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and many of the MI companies have some awesome resources with red flags to look for on all sorts of mortgage fraud out there, videos on protecting yourself, and case studies that would be very helpful for anyone learning what they are and how to prevent them.

5. Bust the bad guys. This is two-fold. Not only do you want to make sure it's reported properly, but you need to make sure you have a culture encouraging employees to speak up when they need to. It's not going to do any good to educate them if they don't feel comfortable waiving the red flag.

Now, when you do find the fraud, report it to the proper authorities and have steps in place to handle the report. Freddie Mac asks that you report that to an email address, [email protected], or submit the information via fax at 571-382-4883. They even have a report fraud hotline 1-800-4-FRAUD-8. Fannie Mae also has an online form to report fraud, or you can call them at 1-800-2Fannie. Or, you can contact the government's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force who will connect you with the FBI directly. These are serious crimes and they need to be reported.

We work in the most amazing industry where we get to make dreams come true with homeownership and now we get to be super heroes too. What an awesome purpose we have!

Alison Barksdale is assistant vice president of marketing for CU Members Mortgage. She can be reached at 800-607-3474 Ext. 3290 or [email protected].