A report released by the Mortgage Asset Research Institute showed that mortgage fraud is still on the rise. Mortgage fraud incidents increased 7 percent in 2009. That follows an increase of 26 percent in 2008.

The state worst hit by mortgage fraud was Florida, which had three times more than the level of fraud that would be expected because of the number of loans it issues. Meanwhile the three metropolitan areas where consumers are most likely to be victims of fraud: New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. See a list of the top 10 states worst hit by mortgage fraud below.

To request your own copy of the fraud case report click here.

The top 10 states hit the worst by mortgage fraud:

1. Florida

2. New York

3. California

4. Arizona

5. Michigan

6. Maryland

7. New Jersey

8. Georgia

9. Illinois

10. Virginia

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