BLOG

Question: Has Fannie Mae issued recent guidance related to appraiser identity theft?

Answer:

Yes, in a recent Fraud Alert: Appraiser Identity Theft (January 2024), Fannie Mae identified a significant number of loans originated between 2021 and 2023, which involved appraisals completed by an unlicensed appraiser unlawfully using the identities of other actively licensed appraisers.

Fannie Mae provided lenders with the following red flags for this particular mortgage fraud scenario:

• 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.

Fannie Mae also advised lenders that they should do the following to help minimize the risk of appraiser identity theft:

• Perform thorough due diligence when retaining services of appraisers and other outside vendors; and
• Utilize all available public records and licensing agencies in determining the validity of third-party documentation (including addresses) within loan files.

Fannie Mae maintains a dedicated Mortgage Fraud Prevention webpage, which provides valuable resources including publicly available data on fraud trends and recent fraud alerts.