Fraud alert

[J Grant]

Appraiser Identity Theft Fannie Mae’s Mortgage Fraud Investigations (MFI) team alerts the industry to potential and active mortgage fraud scenarios. Fannie Mae has identified a significant number of loans involving appraisals that were completed by an unlicensed appraiser unlawfully using the identities of other actively licensed appraisers. The identified loans were originated between 2021-2023. There is no evidence that the appraisers whose identities were used were aware of or involved in the activity. Red Flags: ▪ The unlicensed appraiser’s name and signature are not found in any capacity within the appraisals (or loan files). ▪ The company name, phone number, and address listed under “contact information” on page six of Form 1004 will be different from that of the licensed appraiser. ▪ Email contact information reflects a name other than the name of the appraiser who is listed as having performed the appraisal. ▪ The signatures of the “victim” appraisers appear forged and/or cut and pasted to the identified appraisals. ▪ Appraisal fees for the appraisals were paid with proceeds going directly to the mailing address of the unlicensed appraiser, not to the address of the purported appraisers. What can lenders do? ▪ Perform thorough due diligence when retaining services of...( the rest of the article )

Interesting - 201-2023 - about the time that it scaled up with third-party non-licensed people inspecting for value acceptance with data collection or for a hybrid. IDK if there is any evidence for a link or if it would ever be disclosed if there is one found - but I mean, come on, open up the appraisal ecosystem to thousands of low-paid, unlicensed people with no stake in anything, and what might happen? Even if they passed some POS bg check, they have friends who are hackers and a bg check only shows certain things anyway -

 

[NC Appraising]

I am glad our state has a stamp/seal and just not a signature.
I also use ALAMODES verify with a serial number.

Will be easy to show that it was not me.....

 

[Dublin ohio]

Appraiser Identity Theft Fannie Mae’s Mortgage Fraud Investigations (MFI) team alerts the industry to potential and active mortgage fraud scenarios. Fannie Mae has identified a significant number of loans involving appraisals that were completed by an unlicensed appraiser unlawfully using the identities of other actively licensed appraisers. The identified loans were originated between 2021-2023. There is no evidence that the appraisers whose identities were used were aware of or involved in the activity. Red Flags: ▪ The unlicensed appraiser’s name and signature are not found in any capacity within the appraisals (or loan files). ▪ The company name, phone number, and address listed under “contact information” on page six of Form 1004 will be different from that of the licensed appraiser. ▪ Email contact information reflects a name other than the name of the appraiser who is listed as having performed the appraisal. ▪ The signatures of the “victim” appraisers appear forged and/or cut and pasted to the identified appraisals. ▪ Appraisal fees for the appraisals were paid with proceeds going directly to the mailing address of the unlicensed appraiser, not to the address of the purported appraisers. What can lenders do? ▪ Perform thorough due diligence when retaining services of...( the rest of the article )

Interesting - 201-2023 - about the time that it scaled up with third-party non-licensed people inspecting for value acceptance with data collection or for a hybrid. IDK if there is any evidence for a link or if it would ever be disclosed if there is one found - but I mean, come on, open up the appraisal ecosystem to thousands of low-paid, unlicensed people with no stake in anything, and what might happen? Even if they passed some POS bg check, they have friends who are hackers and a bg check only shows certain things anyway -

So obviously the unlicensed appraisers had access to the necessary software of some kind. Not like the old days of hard copies. The bolded above seems to be the start of a good conspiracy theory. Especially since only a very limited number of vendors were doing them.

 

[J Grant]

So obviously the unlicensed appraisers had access to the necessary software of some kind. Not like the old days of hard copies. The bolded above seems to be the start of a good conspiracy theory. Especially since only a very limited number of vendors were doing them.

None of us can know. But he licensed flood of people in that time frame invited at a seat at teh table to inspect are teh ones without a license or any stake in what happens -it is not a career for them, it is an option to UBER driving or the like for a few extra bucks.

Encouraging looser and looser valuation standards and cheaper and automated valuations paves the way for fraud—it could be happening with AVM or other values; who can say or would want to if it makes them look bad?

 

[Surf Cat]

Fannie Mae has identified a significant number of loans involving appraisals that were completed by an unlicensed appraiser unlawfully using the identities of other actively licensed appraisers.

If those fraudulent appraisals were paid full fee.... you know for sure that they were fake!

 

[DWiley]

Cases like this one have been around since long before the GSEs testing of PDRs. I worked on several while I was an investigator. Appraiser loses his/her credential, uses the name and license number of another appraiser, creates signature in their forms software and continues to work using someone else's name and license number.

This is the main reason I have never supported forms software that allows an appraiser to self generate a signature file - that makes such fraud far easier to pull off.

By the way, these cases are one of the reasons some AMCs ask for a photo ID to join their panel.

 

[George Hatch]

I just reviewed an appraisal on an industrial out in a rural location (tough assignment type to begin with), wherein it appears to me the licensed appraiser had nothing to do with the appraisal. They've got a signature and a copy of the license in the report and it looks like they used someone's comm report as a template but there are a bunch of errors and consistencies that together would not normally occur in an appraisal performed by someone who has been doing the same for 30 years. I've seen this a number of times over the last 10 years. It's to the point that I cannot assume the appraiser whose "signature" and license are in the report is the person who did the appraisal.

This is one reason why I NEVER include a copy of my license or E&O in my reports. And also why I use a unique report format that would be difficult to recreate.

The GSEs use data formats and protocols that commonly aren't used for other types of users or assignments.

 

[BRCJR]

Cases like this one have been around since long before the GSEs testing of PDRs. I worked on several while I was an investigator. Appraiser loses his/her credential, uses the name and license number of another appraiser, creates signature in their forms software and continues to work using someone else's name and license number.

This is the main reason I have never supported forms software that allows an appraiser to self generate a signature file - that makes such fraud far easier to pull off.

By the way, these cases are one of the reasons some AMCs ask for a photo ID to join their panel.

Curious, how does presenting a photo identification stop the fraud?

 

[Lil Rhody]

I'm guessing that this was uncovered due to the fraudulent appraiser using the words superior or inferior in their neighborhood description. Go get 'em Fannie.

 

[DWiley]

Curious, how does presenting a photo identification stop the fraud?

It only helps mitigate the risk; it does not eliminate it completely.