The National Notary Association represents America's 4.5 million Notaries Public, who serve as the nation's professional identity screeners and play an integral role in detecting and deterring all forms of identity and document fraud — including mortgage fraud.

"The FBI worked with the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the National Notary Association (NNA), as well as FINCEN, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and major mortgage lending institutions to improve the reporting and detection of potential mortgage fraud." — Robert S. Mueller, III Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, before the U.S. Senate Committee on Intelligence February 16, 2005

Therefore, the NNA has compiled this Web resource of useful links, position papers, statistics and other information for Notaries and non-Notaries who are interested in learning more about mortgage fraud, how various state and federal agencies are combating this pervasive crime, and how the Notary Public can assist law enforcement.

Mortgage Fraud in the News

• Betting the House (MSNBC, October 21, 2005).
• Fraud Booms with mortgage market (USA Today, October 12, 2005).
• FBI warns of mortgage fraud 'epidemic' (CNN, September 17, 2005).

Mortgage Fraud Articles

• Property Fraud: The Fraud Prevention Role of the Notary Public, by Timothy S. Reiniger, Esq., Vice President & Executive Director, National Notary Association (Title News, May/June 2005).
• Creating a Paper Trail: The Journal as Evidence by NNA Staff (The National Notary, July 2003).
• NNA's Mortgage Fraud Prevention Tips
  The NNA issued Tips to Protect Yourself From Mortgage Fraud at Closing on the heals of the FBI's announcement that mortgage fraud has become a national epidemic.

"The FBI works closely with individual lenders, as well as national associations such as the MBA, the Appraisal Institute, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers and the National Notary Association, to define and combat the mortgage fraud problem." — FBI's Financial Crimes Report to the Public (May 2005)

Important Links

• Stop Mortgage Fraud.com is provided by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
• The Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI) issued its Seventh Case Report on mortgage fraud to the MBA in May 2005.
• The National Association of Mortgage Bankers.
• All mortgage fraud programs for the Federal Bureau of Investigation are consolidated within the Financial Institution Fraud Unit.
• The Urban Development Office of Inspector General.

Presentations & Reports

• At the NNA's 27th Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, Derek Siegle, Acting Chief of the FBI's Financial Crimes Section, delivered a presentation on the FBI's strategy for combating mortgage fraud and the role of the Notary Public in this important fight.



• The Financial Crimes Section of the FBI's Criminal Investigation Division published a Financial Crimes Report to the Public in May 2005 that discusses the latest mortgage fraud statistics.



• Notaries Public who maintain a journal of their official acts assist law enforcement by creating an auditable evidence trail for prosecutors in the event of an act or attempt of fraud.
• National Notary Association's Position Papers:
• The FBI asked the NNA to deliver a report on the role of the Notary Public in combating mortgage fraud. This report was distributed to FBI Field Agents across the country.
• The NNA published a position paper on the role of the Notary Public and the journal of official acts in fighting mortgage fraud.