A ChoicePoint® company, the Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), announced today the release of its new MARI Loan Fraud Alert Service (LFAS). MARI LFAS is a mortgage industry-contributed loan process database that enables lenders and investors to identify potential application risk, patterns of fraud and hidden relationships among transaction parties.

When used in tandem with ChoicePoint's Identity Risk Management and Mortgage Fraud Solutions, MARI LFAS is an integral tool in stopping mortgage fraud before it impacts a lender's loan portfolio.

Tom Chmielewski, ChoicePoint vice president of product marketing said: "Fraudsters are taking advantage of the fact that some lenders do not have the capability to compare the details of all pending transaction". "By incorporating LFAS into their business solutions, lenders will now have the ability to compare that data against other contributing lenders' loan data."

By comparing a lender's loan-level data, which includes borrower, collateral and professional information, against industry-contributed loan application data during the origination process, MARI's LFAS can help reduce mortgage fraud. Patterns such as multiple closings for a single borrower, undisclosed second escrows or mortgages for the same property, inflated appraisals for the same property within a short period of time and multiple loan applications for the same property, are identified by the sophisticated match logic.

The comparison helps recognize application inconsistencies and common patterns that may be indicative of fraudulent activity. Lenders can also improve their quality control processes and reduce redundant application reviews, by helping identify risk at the earliest stages.

Merle Sharick, vice president and national manager of business development for MARI said: "MARI Loan Fraud Alert Service gives lenders the ability to better know who they are doing business with, and now they can use this information to identify potentially fraudulent relationships between vendors and customers".