Mortgage fraud may be on the decline, according to the latest results of a quarterly index. Interthinx’s employment and income fraud index decreased 33% in Q209 from Q208, according to the latest Interthinx Mortgage Fraud Risk Report. Interthinx said the decline is due in part to lenders increased use of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) 4506-T income verification form. Interthinx, an Agoura Hills, Calif.-based mortgage software developer, said its loan-level fraud detection software has new features that let lenders order 4506-T income verification reports from the IRS directly through its FraudGUARD interface and new risk analytics based on income verification results. “Technology has made it easy to forge or procure documents that can fool even the best loan underwriters, and Interthinx has noted an increase in fraudsters using these forged documents to falsify assets and income,” said Connie Wilson, Interthinx executive vice president. “This type of fraud is dangerous because it can make ratios used to underwrite loans virtually meaningless. Income verification with the 4506-T service has become a pre-funding requirement for many lenders, and now Interthinx has made it easier and faster to attain results.” Write to Austin Kilgore.