CoreLogic Reports 17% Increase in Mortgage Fraud Risk

CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., said mortgage fraud risk increased in the second quarter by nearly 17 percent year over year.

The company’s quarterly Mortgage Fraud Report said an estimated 13,404 mortgage applications, or 0.82 percent of all mortgage applications, contained indications of fraud, as compared with the reported 12,718, or 0.70 percent a year ago.

“If the factors that influenced the increase continue, including a shift to purchase transactions and growing wholesale channel origination activity, it is likely that mortgage application fraud risk will continue to rise,” said Bridget Berg, principal of Fraud Solutions with CoreLogic. “Fraud on cash-out refinance transactions and home equity loans may become more of a factor in the coming years as home values and equity rise.”

The report said New York saw the highest level of application fraud risk in the second quarter. Florida, which held the top spot for the past several years, dropped to third behind New Jersey, seeing a 3 percent decrease in application fraud risk from 2016.

States with the greatest year-over-year growth in risk include Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, Louisiana and Idaho. Although they have the highest growth in risk, except for Louisiana, the other four states are still outside the top 25 in terms of overall risk.

CoreLogic said jumbo refinance loans showed greatest fraud risk increase by loan type. Occupancy, Transaction and Income fraud types showed increases year-over-year, with the greatest increase in Occupancy fraud risk at 7.0 percent.

The report can be downloaded at www.corelogic.com/mortgagefraudreport.