At North Star Mortgage Network, Inc., your privacy and security are our top priorities. As we begin processing your mortgage application, I want to personally reassure you that we take significant steps to protect your information. One of these steps involves safeguarding you from Trigger Leads—a frustrating industry-wide practice that can result in a flood of unwanted solicitations.

What Are Trigger Leads?

When a lender runs a hard credit inquiry for a mortgage application, credit bureaus legally sell this information to other lenders and marketers. This can result in:

• Unsolicited phone calls and emails from competing lenders.
• Confusing or misleading offers that may not be in your best interest.
• Potential scams from fraudsters posing as legitimate lenders.

While North Star Mortgage NEVER sells or shares your information, credit bureaus unfortunately have the legal right to do so. We understand how frustrating this can be, which is why we take every possible step to reduce the impact of trigger leads.

How North Star Mortgage Protects You

To minimize these unwanted solicitations, we:

• Remove your phone number and email from the application before running your credit.
• Educate you on how to identify and block these unwanted calls and emails.
• Encourage direct communication—only respond to calls or emails from myself, North Star Mortgage, or my assistant, Karla.
• Guide you through the opt-out process to help reduce future solicitations.

Steps You Can Take to Reduce Trigger Leads

You can take proactive steps to prevent unwanted marketing offers:

Opt-Out of Prescreened Credit Offers

• Online: www.optoutprescreen.com (Effective within 5 business days)
• By Phone: 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688)

Add Your Number to the National Do Not Call List

• Online: www.donotcall.gov
• By Phone: 1-888-382-1222 (TTY: 1-866-290-4236)

Permanently Opt-Out

To permanently opt out of prescreened credit offers, complete the Permanent Opt-Out Election Form available at www.optoutprescreen.com and return it as directed.

Additional Notes:

• Processing Time: Opt-out requests typically take effect within 5 days, but you may still receive offers for a few weeks if companies accessed your information before your request was processed.
• Soft Credit Inquiry Option: If you are concerned about hard credit inquiries, we can assist you with obtaining a pre-approval letter using a soft credit inquiry through CIC Credit.

Your Privacy Matters to Us

At North Star Mortgage Network, we remain committed to protecting your financial well-being. If you have any questions about trigger leads, privacy concerns, or any aspect of your mortgage process, please reach out to me directly.

We are always here for you!

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