FBI: Mortgage Fraud on the Rise

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has conducted or launched 533 mortgage fraud investigations so far this year, compared with 436 investigations for all of 2003, according to an FBI report.However, the FBI says its resources cannot keep up with the number of suspicious activities reports filed by financial institutions involving mortgage fraud. Over 12,000 SARs have been filed so far this year -- a 75% increase over the number of mortgage fraud SARs filed last year. FBI officials maintain that mortgage fraud is rampant and can be found anywhere in the country. The 10 hottest states for mortgage fraud are California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, South Carolina, and Utah. The FBI can be found on the Web at http://www.fbi.gov.