Federal Government Cracks Down on Mortgage Scammers

FinanceMortgage & Debt

  • Author Sara Waters
  • Published January 23, 2012
  • Word count 474

An alarming new scam has been making the rounds of the internet. Many fraudulent organizations that claim to be affiliated with the government have been scamming underwater mortgage owners out of money by claiming to offer a service that helps them get money from the government to avoid foreclosures. Google has come under fire for their alleged involvement in the scam, since they allowed many of these frauds to take out "pay per click" ads that show up at the top of the page when people search for "stop foreclosure."

The offer the scammers make sounds too good to refuse: according to many of these con artists' websites, the government offers money to homeowners who are having problems making their mortgage payments in an effort to stop the trend in rising foreclosures. According to the scammers, this is a government program designed to protect the housing market and the economy from the damage caused by out of control foreclosure rates. By claiming to be affiliated with the government, many of these organizations gain the trust of desperate homeowners who are ready to believe anything.

However, once an unsuspecting homeowner enlists the help of one of these fraudsters, they find that they're conned into sending their mortgage payments directly to the scam artists. In other cases, they may be tricked into paying upfront fees for the service and then finding that it doesn't help them. In the meantime, they continue to lose money and get even more behind on their mortgage payments.

Many homeowners who are facing financial hardship choose instead to take advantage of more legitimate financial services to help them get on top of their mortgage payments. For instance, some homeowners may decide to take out short term collateral loans as a means of paying for their houses. One type of collateral loan that has become increasingly popular in recent years is known as a "car title loan," in which a borrower exchanges his or her car title as collateral for a short term loan. This type of arrangement has become popular with homeowners who may have considered selling their cars at first, but then learned that they could use their car title as collateral and continue to drive the car. Consumers who are interested in more information about car title loans should consult established companies such as Trading Financial Credit online at http://tfciloan.com

Regardless of how mortgage owners choose to get caught up on their mortgage payments, the wisest choice for homeowners is to make sure they don't get behind in the first place. But if you can't help getting in this situation, for whatever reason, it's important not to let your state of financial desperation influence your decisions too heavily. Always remember not to believe everything you read online, and research any organization that claims to offer financial help.

Sarah Waters lives in Los Angeles and blogs about financial news and consumer scams. Her goal is to help consumers make better use of their money. More of her articles can be found online at http://acartitleloan.com

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