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Mortgage fraud cases declined by 15 percent over the third quarter of this year, while the dollar amount involved in mortgage fraud cases declined by just 6 percent, according to the _Third Quarter 2012 Mortgage Fraud Index_ released Monday by ""MortgageDaily.com."":http://www.mortgagedaily.com/ This disparity in declines points to an increase in the amount of money involved in each mortgage fraud case during the quarter, according to _Mortgage Daily._
[IMAGE]The index tracked 141 mortgage fraud cases during the third quarter of 2012, down from 165 fraud cases tracked [COLUMN_BREAK]
in the second quarter. The year-over-year decline was even greater, having dropped from 175 cases reported in the third quarter of last year.
The total dollar amount of loans involved in mortgage fraud cases tracked during the third quarter of this year was $1.7 billion. This is down from $1.8 billion in the previous quarter but up from $1.3 billion tracked in the third quarter of last year.
""Industry feedback indicates mortgage fraud prevention products are uncovering new fraud attempts, but this report and others show the lingering impact of fraud not detected 3-5 years ago,"" said Stephen Schrump, president of index sponsor ""PitchPoint Solutions, Inc."":http://www.pitchpointsolutions.com/
California ranked No. 1 for mortgage fraud during the third quarter with an index value of 193 and dollar amounts totaling about $318 million.
New York, having claimed the No. 1 spot last quarter, dropped to the No. 2 spot with an index of 67 and dollar amounts totaling $250 million for the quarter.
California has been ranked in the top five states in the index since the second quarter of 2009, and New York has placed in the top five since the second quarter of 2011.
