FinCEN

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.