CHICAGO (April 24, 2012) – Responding to a new study indicating that mortgage fraud in the United States increased 20 percent from the third quarter of 2010 to the third quarter of 2011, the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers today encouraged lenders and consumers to work with valuation professionals who hold competence and ethics in the highest regard.

The Appraisal Institute reacted to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s March 2012 Mortgage Loan Fraud Update, which found that depository institutions submitted 19,934 Suspicious Activity Reports in the third quarter of 2011 pertaining specifically to mortgage loan fraud, a 20 percent increase over the previous year. The total number of all SARs (including loan workouts, debt elimination attempts and other activity) filed in the third quarter of 2011 increased 14 percent from the previous year to 200,871.

“These ongoing reports of fraud in the housing industry reinforce the need for consumers...