VICTORVILLE • Among one of the most affordable housing markets in Southern California, the Victor Valley attracts firsttime home buyers from all over the state.

But at the same time, the area has become an attraction for investors looking to take advantage of the housing market collapse. Some of those investors are pushing the limits of ethical investment practices.

Along with five other California ZIP codes, the 92394 area has the fifth-highest mortgage fraud risk in the nation, according to the 2010 thirdquarter mortgage-fraud risk report compiled by Interthinx Inc. The ZIP code covers the northwest corner of Victorville and neighboring Adelanto, north of Mojave Drive and west of Interstate 15.

The area’s risk index of 412 indicates it had nearly three times as many mortgage fraud incidents as the national average (144) during the third quarter. Other High Desert cities also scored high on the risk index: Hesperia (316), Oak Hills (303), Apple Valley (288), Adelanto (270) and Phelan (256).

"Mortgage fraud always flourishes when there’s instability in the housing market with borrowers who are in trouble,” said Ann Fulmer, vice president of business relations at Interthinx. “If you look at the overall report, California is always No. 1, 2 or 3. What happened in the Mojave (Desert) is the same thing that’s happened throughout the Inland Empire.”

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