Page 42 - Banking Finance September 2018

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locations or properties through their public profile on available via online resources. Skiptracer, the person using
social media and gives away details that became the the techniques of skiptracing, may use any number of
cue to trace the use of loan amount to fund these resources and database to collect the requisite information
properties, vacations or vehicles. pertaining to the borrower or subject. Skiptracing has proved

8. Banks have to finance in government sponsored schemes to be a very valuable technique in solving cases previously
like PMMY, PMEGP etc in order to achieve priority thought unsolvable. Even the seasoned defaulting borrowers
who used to camouflage themselves from the lenders now
sector targets and to shoulder the responsibility of
uplifting of certain sections of society. Here social media find it difficult rather next to impossible to remove their
can be useful tool to verify the details provided by digital footprints, thus zero possibility to escape from lenders
clutches.
borrower regarding marital status, family makeup,
income criteria, address etc. Bankers requires to have
a continues and regular touch/liaison with the borrower. How Skiptracing Works
Thus updation of information on social media is Skip tracing uses the information provided with the
quintessential to bridge the gap which tends to widen application for credit. The information used are the
up due to lack of proximity with the borrower. borrower's name, address, telephone number, place of
employment, and any references that were provided with
Thus social media is new age weapon in the hands of lenders the application for credit. With that information, it is possible
to do due diligence of prospective borrower, to keep a track to search for new addresses, new telephone numbers, and
of borrowers current whereabouts and to verify the factual new places of employment.
position of different aspects of borrowers. How it can
possible? This all has been possible through Skip Tracing. Furthermore, the names, addresses, and telephone
numbers of family members, friends, acquaintances, and
What is Skip Tracing? possible neighbours, are also useful to verify the correct
The wilful defaulters who have availed credit facilities from contact information of the borrower.
Banks/FI/NBFC fled the scene by shifting to other cities/
Inherent to achieving success with skip tracing is the ability
towns without leaving any trace of new employment or new
place of residence thereby defunct the recovery of loans. to make connections in existing data, most of which is
Skip tracing is a method of locating a person who has publically available and free to use. There is so much
information that is valuable when skip tracing. Aadhar,
disappeared without any trace. Thus the technique of
Driving licence, PAN, Passport, Business licenses,
finding untraceable borrowers is formally called Skiptracing.
Registrations, Permits, Certifications, Property records,
With the advent of the Internet, skip tracing is much easier Genealogy records, are just a few of the many available
resources one can use to track down a person who has
than it used to be. There is a huge amount of information
skipped town, which is interestingly the origin of the term
used in collections today.

With the advent of the Internet, skip tracing is much easier
than it used to be. There is a huge amount of information
available via online resources. Phone directories are now
available online and the most commonly used tools for skip
tracing are phone directories wherein it is also possible to
access reverse directory information via directory assistance.
This is the practice of obtaining a name and address
associated with a telephone number.

The mobile number of the customer/borrower/subject picked

42 | 2018 | SEPTEMBER | BANKING FINANCE