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Financial institutions filed 2,360 foreclosure rescue-related suspicious activity reports in the first half of 2012, a pace that appears on track to exceed the 2,782 total for 2011, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network reported Wednesday.

The latest edition of FinCEN's Mortgage Loan Fraud Update noted that a high concentration of these scams happened in California, which is consistent with FinCEN's past research on such activities.

Typically, foreclosure rescue scams target homeowners facing foreclosure with services or advice promising to stop or delay the foreclosure process, FinCEN says. Some of these scams require homeowners to transfer their home's title or make monthly mortgage payments to the purported "rescuer." FinCEN cautions that victims may lose thousands of dollars in fabricated fees, and may lose their homes.

Financial institutions filed 17,476 SARs related to overall mortgage fraud in the second quarter. Of those reports, 1,325 were related specifically to foreclosure rescue scams. FinCEN said that the number of foreclosure rescue scams may be rising in part because of a greater awareness about such activity.

The Mortgage Loan Fraud Update is available on FinCEN's website.