The potential for mortgage lending fraud accelerated over the past year, with risk related to undisclosed transaction details driving much of the surge, according to Cotality. In its latest report, the real estate data platform found fraud risk was up 7.3% year over year in the first quarter. Risk lessened over time, though, coming in […]
Mortgage fraud risk jumps 7.3% in one year Read More »
Mortgage scam reports have soared in recent years, opposite of the housing market’s slowdown. The industry as of April was reporting 71 mortgage scams per month, up from just 14 per month in 2022 at the tail-end of the refinance boom, according to BackOffice Pro, a business services organization. While real estate companies disclosed losses
Mortgage scam reports are soaring despite the slowing market Read More »
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that claws back a number of fraud-related mandates by his predecessor, who the Trump White House claimed had engaged in “censorship” and enabling illegal immigration. The order, which was signed on Friday, preempts multiple efforts initiated by former President Joe Biden in the waning days of his
Trump rolls back some Biden cyber and fraud directives Read More »
Forged checks, false occupancy claims and scams on senior citizens are among the schemes lenders should be aware of as growing interest in home equity lending catches the attention of fraudsters. While home equity lines of credit have been available for decades, the rapid acceleration of mortgage rates over the past three years is raising
What fraud risks do HELOCs pose? Read More »
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s own counsel is reportedly concerned that Trump administration-induced staff cuts could disrupt mortgage operations and increase fraud and litigation risks. The revelations stem from an internal HUD document seen by Bloomberg Citylab, according to an article published Thursday. Staff departures at the regulator could allegedly “greatly delay”‘ or
HUD memo reportedly warns of staff cut impact on mortgages Read More »
Influential government-related mortgage investor Fannie Mae will be partnering with Palantir, a company involved in introducing more artificial intelligence to financial services, as its regulator and conservator steps up its fight against fraud. Peter Thiel, who owns stakes in Trump administration ally Elon Musk’s companies, founded the AI firm that will be helping identify patterns
Fannie Mae partners with Palantir to weed out fraud Read More »
A leading title insurer is suing two federal U.S. offices over a new “arbitrary and capricious” reporting rule aimed at preventing money laundering activity that it claims exceeds their authority. Fidelity National Financial and its similarly named title insurance subsidiary filed the lawsuit in a Florida federal district court in May. Named as defendants were
Title company sues feds over looming reporting rule Read More »
Google has launched a joint effort with the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, or FS-ISAC, that will combine the search giant’s threat detection capabilities with FS-ISAC’s network and intelligence sharing to prevent fraud within the financial sector. The program, announced Wednesday, is dubbed the Financial Services branch of Google’s Priority Flagger Program, according
New partnership helps banks flag fraud on Google Read More »
Bill Pulte, director of what has been known as the Federal Housing Finance Agency, shed light on certain plans he has for the government-sponsored enterprises during an appearance at an industry event on Monday, but deferred to President Trump on a conservatorship exit. Pulte told attendees at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s secondary market conference in
FHFA’s Pulte defers to a higher authority on conservatorship Read More »
Two men will spend multiple years in federal prison for a scheme to buy a $1.3 million Virginia home. A federal judge this week sentenced Herman Estes Jr., of Fieldale, Virginia to 84 months in prison for the wire and tax fraud to purchase the Roanoke County home in March 2023. A co-conspirator, Daniel Heggins
Fraudsters get prison for $1.3M Virginia home scheme Read More »