Inventory
info icon
Single family homes on the market. Updated weekly.Powered by Altos Research
722,032+456
30-yr Fixed Rate30-yr Fixed
info icon
30-Yr. Fixed Conforming. Updated hourly during market hours.
7.00%0.01

Mortgage Fraud Reports Jump 23% in 2008

Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) including fraud accounts filed by depository institutions in 2008 increased by 13% from 2007, according to the SAR activity review released by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). All seven categories of fraud including mortgage loans rose by double digits. Last year, 64,816 accounts of mortgage loan fraud were filed, rising 23% from 2007. The reports have increased every year since 2003. The fraud categories make up just one-third of all possible violation types, but in 2008, accounted for half of the total SAR filings. The increase in fraud reports may be the result of combined filings for the same suspect, according to the report by FinCEN. A single report can contain several suspected crimes, including fraud.  For example, 35% of all reports of identity thefts contained reports of credit card fraud or other violations such as check or consumer loan fraud. FinCEN also indicated the increase in reports might be a sign that SAR filers are more suspicious. “While increases in reporting of suspected fraudulent activity could mean that there is an increase in fraud, it also reflects an increase in awareness within financial institutions detecting such activity,” said James Freis Jr., director of FinCEN, in a corporate release. Write to Jon Prior.

Most Popular Articles

Latest Articles

Lower mortgage rates attracting more homebuyers 

An often misguided premise I see on social media is that lower mortgage rates are doing nothing for housing demand. That’s ok — very few people are looking at the data without an agenda. However, the point of this tracker is to show you evidence that lower rates have already changed housing data. So, let’s […]

3d rendering of a row of luxury townhouses along a street

Log In

Forgot Password?

Don't have an account? Please