By Lisa A. Tyler
National Escrow Administrator

An ounce of prevention…is worth $66,000. In California alone, claims categorized as "fraud and forgery" cost the Company an average of $66,000 per claim in 2011. The purpose of Fraud Insights is to aid in the prevention of claims by raising awareness of how they occur and what can be done to prevent them. In addition to raising awareness within the FNF Family of Companies, it is also our full intent to change the real estate industry for the better. Do your part by sharing this and all monthly editions of Fraud Insights with your customers and other industry professionals.

Read "CEO talks the talk and walks the walk" to find out how a sneaky negotiator was caught attempting to defraud a short sale lender and collect more than $13,000 at closing. Sometimes staying ahead of the fraudsters is all-consuming. Luckily, the escrow officer in this story quickly figured out the crime and stopped the transaction from closing.

You know times are hard when an escrow officer is willing to risk her integrity, honesty and ultimately her career in order to keep a customer happy. Read the story entitled "LAID off vs. fired – which is better?" to discover the many lines crossed by one desperate escrow officer – all in the name of customer service.