Patent ID: 7693764

Claim:
A method for determining at least one indication of whether a mortgage loan application for a property is likely to involve property value fraud, the method comprising: receiving, by a data processor, information representative of the property from a database, the information including foreclosure information on the property and a current rate of foreclosures corresponding to a region in which the property is located; determining, using the data processor when evaluating the mortgage loan application and prior to issuing a mortgage based on the mortgage loan application, a first indication based on one or more rules and the received information, the first indication representative of a likelihood that the mortgage loan application involves property value fraud, the one or more rules being implemented by the data processor and including: comparing the current rate of foreclosures to a previous rate of foreclosures, adjusting the first indication by a first predefined amount when the current rate of foreclosures has increased by a second predefined amount, determining whether there has been a foreclosure on the property within a predetermined amount of time, adjusting the first indication by a third predefined amount when there has been a foreclosure within the predetermined amount of time, and adjusting the first indication by a fourth predefined amount that is a multiple of the first predefined amount and the third predefined amount when the current rate of foreclosures has increased by the second predefined amount and the property has been foreclosed on within the predetermined amount of time; calculating, using the data processor, an appraisal score indicating whether an appraisal value of the property is faulty; and determining, using the data processor and when evaluating the mortgage loan application, a second indication based on the one or more rules and the appraisal score, the second indication representative of a likelihood that the mortgage loan application involves property fraud.