When newspaper headlines focus on the mortgage crisis and foreclosure rates, crooks’ ears tend to perk up. And that means more and more people are getting sucked into mortgage scams.
Because government foreclosure documents are public record, many homeowners are receiving personalized letters filled with false promises of hope. The people who fall for these con artists’ tactics often lose what’s left of their savings — or even their homes.
The Federal Trade Commission’s Scam Watch website lists the warning signs of a mortgage con. The FTC recommends avoiding any business that:
- charges to enroll you in a governmental foreclosure-prevention program — you can do it yourself for free
- promises to go to bat for you to stop a foreclosure or modify your loan
- guarantees they will save your home (advertising a “97% success rate,” for example)
- collects fees before providing services
- offers to fill out paperwork for you
- advises you to stop sending payments to your lender, recommending you pay a third party instead
Kimberly Lankford, a columnist for Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, recommends legitimate sources of help for people who are already in trouble or think they may have been taken for a ride.
One Comment
Seems persons that fill out the forms on the Obama .. err .. government run web site are solicticed by lawyers who scam these poor “cash-starved” homeowners.