This This report was first published on December 13, 2011 and has been updated in 2025 for continuity. At that time, Mortgage Daily’s Mortgage Fraud Index showed that mortgage fraud remained widespread even as underwriting standards improved. The index tracks cases based on suspicious activity reports, court actions and law enforcement investigations. In the late-2011 update, fraud reports remained high in several states.
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### Top states for fraud
– **Florida** – long considered a hotbed for foreclosure rescue scams and identity theft, Florida continued to have the most suspected mortgage fraud cases.
– **California** – high home prices created incentives for misrepresentation of income and property values.
– **New York** – regulators and prosecutors saw more cases involving forged documents and straw buyers.
– **Illinois** – property flipping schemes and straw-buyer arrangements drove much of the fraud.
– **Michigan** – false borrower impersonation and foreclosure rescue scams persisted.
### Key trends
– Short-sale fraud and foreclosure rescue scams became more common as borrowers struggled to avoid foreclosure.
– Loan modification fraud targeted homeowners seeking to lower payments.
– Prosecutors pursued more cases against loan officers and brokers accused of facilitating fraud.
– SAR filings indicated that insider fraud and identity theft were major contributors to losses.
### Related resources
– [Fraud Index](/fraudindex)
– [Q1 2012 Mortgage Fraud Index](/fraudindex1q2012062512)
– [Mortgage Fraud & Enforcement Index](/mortgagefraudenforcementindex)
– [Mortgage Graveyard](/mortgage-graveyard)
– [Subprime Mortgage Crisis Analysis 2007](/subprimemortgagecrisisanalysis2007)
