We have all seen the news reports on scammers offering to help homeowners lower their monthly mortgage payments. Well, relief is finally here. The federal government has stepped in to crack down on these scams.
Scam Advertisers
There is an abundance of online ads located on search engines, that advertise these scams. They promise to help modify mortgage loans through a government program called the Home Affordable Modification Program (or HAMP).
In November of this year, the federal government agency in charge of investigating fraud made an announcement. It had shut down 85 scams that had online ads on Google. Days later, they announced the termination of 125 more scamming advertisers on Yahoo and Bing. “‘The first place many homeowners turn for help in lowering their mortgage is the Internet through online search engines, and that’s precisely where they are being taken advantage of and targeted,” said Christy Romero, Deputy Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP).”
Agencies Working Together
SIGTARP is working tirelessly to stop these fraudulent activities. They want to protect homeowners from becoming victims to these con-artists. They are also working very hard to label them as criminals and hold them accountable for defrauding homeowners in the name of legitimate government-related programs.
To show their support, Google has banned 500 of their online advertisers that were linked to these online mortgage scams. Microsoft cut ties with 400 in one week alone. These were customers that advertised their scams on their Bing and Yahoo search engines. Both Google and Microsoft are working with the US Department of Treasury to find ways to identify these paid search scam advertisers.
Ways to Spot a Scam
- Of all the mortgage scams out there, the most common involves asking homeowners to pay up-front fees. These fees are supposed to be in exchange for help with mortgage modifications. Once the scammers get the fees, they are never to be seen or heard from again.
- In some cases, scammers advise the homeowners to stop making mortgage payments to their lenders. And, furthermore, cease all contact with them altogether. Homeowners are told to send the “modified” payments to the scammers, who never send a cent of it to the lenders.
- These con-artists have even been skilled enough to get homeowners to transfer their property ownership to them. They are told that this will somehow “save” their home. The property ownership is supposed to be transferred back, upon contingency. But, this never happens.
No Way Out Once In
Once a homeowner is taken by one of these scammers, there is almost no way out. By the time the scam begins to fall apart, homeowners are even further behind in their payments than before. They are also out of thousands of dollars paid in up-front fees to the con-artist. By then, it’s almost impossible to catch up on delinquent mortgage payments.
Be aware of anyone who tells you to stop making your mortgage payments. Be even more leary if they tell you to halt all contact with your lender. SIGTARP urges homeowners to get free help with their Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) modifications from their own mortgage lenders or a HUD approved housing counselor.
This article was written by Kimberley Kelly, an Indio California real estate agent. For more about Kim, you can visit her website at http://kimberleyjoykelly.com/ where you can see many great golf course homes in the Palm Springs Valley.
