Which form of fraud is more likely to be initiated externally rather than internally?

Mortgage fraud is often initiated externally due to the nature of real estate transactions, which typically involve third-party participants such as lenders, appraisers, and real estate agents. These external entities may collude or act independently to deceive financial institutions into approving loans that would otherwise not be granted based on misleading information. This can include inflating property values, falsifying personal financial information, or using straw buyers to secure loans.

In contrast, employee embezzlement, accounting fraud, and check fraud are more likely to be perpetrated by individuals within an organization. Employee embezzlement involves an employee misappropriating funds or resources for personal gain, accounting fraud typically stems from internal manipulation of financial statements by employees to present a false image of the company's financial health, and check fraud often occurs internally when employees forge signatures or create unauthorized checks. Therefore, mortgage fraud stands out as more inherently external in its initiation compared to these other forms of fraud.