Mortgage fraud risk highest in Arizona

Arizona, Nevada and California all posed the highest risk for mortgage fraud in the first quarter.

While many consumers may be trying to avoid foreclosure in Nevada, California and Arizona, those states also posed the highest risk of mortgage fraud, according to a recent report.

Interthinx, which provides risk mitigation services for financial institutions, noted that Arizona posted the highest fraud risk during the first quarter of this year. Nevada came in second, while California placed third.

Overall mortgage fraud risk in the country increased during the first quarter of this year and was up 4 percent when compared to the fourth quarter of 2009. It was also 11 percent higher than was reported in last year's first quarter.

"Our lender customers can now benefit from our investment in fraud detection and risk mitigation analytics as we share a more detailed analysis of the data we’ve been collecting," Kevin Coop, Interthinx president, said.

A report from the government last year noted that fraud associated with consumers trying to avoid foreclosure has seen an increase, while the government is trying to help consumers reduce the risk of losing their properties through the Home Affordable Modification Program.