Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Sales Down, Fraud Up

Even though loan applications were down by a third from 2007 to 2008, the amount of mortgage application fraud increased by 25%.

More than 60 % of the mortgage fraud cases last year were tied to falsified applications, 28% reflected falsified tax returns or financial statements, and 22 % were related to appraisals.

But the biggest scam "growth industry" is in "Foreclosure Prevention". These "specialists" promise - for a fee - to help struggling homeowners save their homes. What really happens is the homeowner pays the fee, the scammer disappears, and the borrower loses their house AND their money.

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