While particularly high rates of lending have cushioned mortgage companies and banks from the impact in the past, higher rates and thin margins have made efficiency more pressing.

Increased cybersecurity spending puts an extraordinary squeeze on smaller firms that struggle to maintain revenues amid the origination slowdown.

Depository originators lose 68 cents per $1 more than their nondepository competitors.

The new capital will be used for hiring and technology development as well as sales and marketing.

Cybercriminals can leverage the workflow of the digital firms against them by tossing a plethora of stolen credentials at an online loan application until they secure approvals, according to one expert.

Fraud experts are concerned that credit washing, in which borrowers make false claims about being victims of identity theft, is making its way into mortgages from other forms of lending.

Although no attacks have been tied to the country so far, professionals say the industry already beset by heightened fraud risk is a ripe target.

An incident at American Financial Resources compromised the information of 216,645 borrowers, the company acknowledged.

But current economic and geopolitical tensions and the shift to a purchase market means lenders should remain vigilant, Ace Quality Management warned.

Lakeview Loan Servicing is facing eight class action lawsuits from borrowers who claim the company was negligent in protecting their information, including Social Security numbers.

The property owner obtained bogus loans on a portfolio spanning 2,500 apartments across more than 70 multifamily properties, prosecutors said.

The scheme highlights a risk that could grow as distressed borrowers exit forbearance.

The year-over-year increase in reports was the largest in several years for both lending/finance companies and government-sponsored enterprises, according to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Dollar losses from business email compromise attacks, many of which target real estate transactions, grew to $2.4 billion last year from $1.8 billion in 2020, a Federal Bureau of Investigations report found.

A California man and his unnamed co-conspirator netted a total of at least $5 million from thousands of homeowners, federal prosecutors said.

The fugitive and five others, including a Realtor, were indicted this month on 25 counts for lying to obtain lines of credit and properties for themselves and clients.

Industry leaders identified mobile device usage and consumer-granted third-party access to data as emerging risks.

A rise in reverse occupancy fraud is contributing to the uptick, a CoreLogic report found.

Danny Yen, owner of Real Estate Educational Services, received a permanent ban on conducting future related training and agreed to testify in any legal proceedings against originators he assisted.

The defendants and an attorney convinced homeowners to hand over their properties while the pair filed bogus claims to keep creditors’ foreclosures at bay.