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Mortgage application fraud rose in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to CoreLogic’s Mortgage Fraud Brief, released Feb. 11. Lenders tracked several areas of risk, including occupancy fraud, employment and income fraud, and property fraud. The report analyzes the metro areas with the highest mortgage fraud risk on a quarterly basis.

CoreLogic’s fraud risk showed that its mortgage application fraud risk index rose 10.4% in the fourth quarter compared to the third. The index was up nearly 27% over the fourth quarter of 2020.

These are the metros where fraud risk was highest in the fourth quarter of 2021:

  1. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.
  2. Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, N.Y.
  3. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
  4. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla.
  5. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.
  6. New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.
  7. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
  8. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, Calif.
  9. New Orleans-Metairie, La.
  10. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, Calif.
  11. Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas
  12. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.
  13. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.
  14. Stockton, Calif.
  15. New Haven-Milford, Conn.
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