New Mortgage Scams Scheme 2023: How to Protect Yourself

&NewLine;<p>We&&num;8217&semi;ve looked into the most recent <strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;category&sol;loans&sol;amp&sol;" data-type&equals;"URL" data-id&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;category&sol;loans&sol;">mortgage and loan closing scams<&sol;a><&sol;strong> so you know what steps to take to protect your money and even your property&period; These scams range from fraudulent wire transfer instructions to false mortgage relief offers&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;"mh-content-ad"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js&quest;client&equals;ca-pub-9162800720558968"&NewLine; crossorigin&equals;"anonymous"><&sol;script>&NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle"&NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;"&NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article"&NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid"&NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-9162800720558968"&NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"1081854981"><&sol;ins>&NewLine;<script>&NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi;&NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>For most people&comma; purchasing a home represents their largest financial transaction&comma; so it&&num;8217&semi;s important to be aware of the tricks scammers might use to take from you&period; They are after the funds you have been accumulating for a down payment and closing charges for years&period; They will target your equity and possibly your home if you face foreclosure&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>You can prevent making a tiny error with significant repercussions by being aware of how mortgage fraud and scams operate&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">How Prevalent are Mortgage Frauds&quest;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Each year&comma; <strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;category&sol;mortgage&sol;amp&sol;" data-type&equals;"URL" data-id&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;category&sol;mortgage&sol;">mortgage fraud<&sol;a><&sol;strong>&comma; wire fraud&comma; and other types of fraud cost customers millions of dollars&period; According to the U&period;S&period; Federal Bureau of Investigation&comma; more than 13&comma;000 people were victims of Internet-based real estate scams &lpar;PDF&rpar; in 2020&comma; with more than &dollar;213 million in losses&period; &lpar;The report from FBI summarizes real estate and rental crimes&period;&rpar;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The U&period;S&period; Federal Trade Commission received nearly 11&comma;000 reports of mortgage foreclosure scams &lpar;PDF&rpar; and other debt management scams&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">How do Mortgage Scams Work&quest;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p><em>Mortgage scams<&sol;em> can put homebuyers and homeowners at risk when buying&comma; refinancing&comma; or seeking help with mortgage payments&period; Scammers seek to gain advantage at every stage by interfering with an otherwise legitimate process&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>In some cases&comma; fraudsters intercept down payments and closing payments&period; In other cases&comma; fraudulent companies take advantage of people facing foreclosure&period; Criminal mortgage industry insiders such as loan officers&comma; appraisers&comma; mortgage brokers&comma; or attorneys may use their expertise to steal cash and equity from lenders and homeowners &&num;8211&semi; this is defined as mortgage fraud for profit and is prioritized by the FBI&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Types of Mortgage and Closing Fraud<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The good news is that you can protect yourself if you know the difference between a legitimate transaction and a mortgage fraud or scam&period; Below is a more detailed explanation of the different types of fraud so you know what to look for&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Transfer Phishing Scams<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Closing on a mortgage for a new home can be an exciting time to buy a home&period; It&&num;8217&semi;s also a great target for scammers&comma; as it&&num;8217&semi;s usually a large <a class&equals;"wpil&lowbar;keyword&lowbar;link" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;tag&sol;financial-fraud&sol;amp&sol;" title&equals;"financial" data-wpil-keyword-link&equals;"linked" data-wpil-monitor-id&equals;"962">financial<&sol;a> transaction&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>In wire transfer phishing scams&comma; fraudsters who can penetrate real estate and land registry email platforms often pose as these companies&period; They send seemingly legitimate emails to customers who are about to close their loan&comma; instructing them how and where to wire money&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Victims transfer their deposit and closing amount to a fraudulent account&comma; which is usually emptied and closed until someone notices the fraud&comma; and the funds are never seen again&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h3 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Protect Yourself from Wire Transfer Fraud<&sol;h3>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h4 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Before You Wire Money<&sol;h4>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li><strong>Call the ownership company<&sol;strong>&colon; Use the phone number from the company&&num;8217&semi;s website or business card&comma; not from an email&period; Remember that scammers can send emails that look legitimate and change the phone number&period; Confirm referral instructions by voice&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Forward emails&comma; don&&num;8217&semi;t reply<&sol;strong>&colon; forward messages and manually enter email addresses when replying&period; Make sure the email address you enter is correct and matches the address on the company website or a business card&period; Scammers often make small changes to email addresses that are easy to miss&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Be suspicious of all emailed remittance instructions and changes to remittance instructions<&sol;strong>&colon; Title companies rarely change remittance instructions&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Review instructions with your financial institution<&sol;strong>&colon; Your financial institution may find inconsistencies in names&comma; routing numbers&comma; and account numbers&comma; and may cross-check routing numbers and account numbers with previous consumer fraud complaints&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Create strong passwords<&sol;strong>&colon; secure accounts with strong passwords and change them frequently&period; Don&&num;8217&semi;t use the same passwords for multiple accounts&semi; consider using a password management service to help you securely manage your accounts&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Protect your computer<&sol;strong>&colon; install a firewall and keep your antivirus and malware software up to date&period; Make sure software updates are installed automatically&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h4 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">When You Transfer Money<&sol;h4>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li><strong>Use secure&comma; encrypted email or a website portal<&sol;strong>&colon; follow the owner company&&num;8217&semi;s instructions for using their secure&comma; encrypted email system&comma; or use a secure website portal if possible&period; Mail&comma; overnight delivery and personal delivery are also secure&comma; but can slow down the process&period; In any case&comma; remember that your financial information isn&&num;8217&semi;t secure if sent via regular&comma; unencrypted email&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Don&&num;8217&semi;t open unexpected email attachments<&sol;strong>&colon; even if you think you know the sender&comma; an attachment could infect your device with malware&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Don&&num;8217&semi;t use free Wi-Fi or public computers<&sol;strong>&colon; free connections and public computers are easier for scammers to reach&comma; and it&&num;8217&semi;s easier for you to grant access to future users unknowingly&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h4 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">After the Money has been Transferred<&sol;h4>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li><strong>Confirm that the money has been received<&sol;strong>&colon; contact the property company within a few hours of transferring the money to make sure the transaction was successful&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Report any suspected problems<&sol;strong>&colon; Contact law enforcement and your financial institution within 24 hours to increase the chances of recovering the money if it was stolen&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Scam to Save a Foreclosure<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>If you&&num;8217&semi;re threatened with foreclosure&comma; you&&num;8217&semi;re in a precarious position&comma; and the scammers know it&period; With a quick scan of public records&comma; scammers can approach you &lpar;PDF&rpar; and offer to lower your payments&comma; stop the foreclosure and repair your credit score&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Here are some of the tactics they&&num;8217&semi;ll try that can cost you your equity and even your home&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h3 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Loan Modification Scams<&sol;h3>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>In these scams&comma; fraudulent companies with official-sounding names send you a letter claiming they can help you stop foreclosure immediately and save you money&period; They demand large upfront payments for services you could easily provide yourself&comma; or they don&&num;8217&semi;t provide any services at all&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Often&comma; these scammers also advise homeowners to stop making mortgage payments and cut off communication with the loan servicer&period; They claim they&&num;8217&semi;ll take care of negotiating a modification on behalf of the homeowner&comma; while collecting fees and doing nothing to help&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>If your lender stops receiving payments and communication from you&comma; your window to seek help may close without you realizing it&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h3 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Lease-Back or Buy-Back Fraud<&sol;h3>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>In a lease-back or repurchase scam&comma; fraudulent companies promise to pay off your mortgage if you sign the deed over to an investor&period; They say you can stay in your home as a renter and have the option to buy it back if your financial situation improves&period; However&comma; the new owner doesn&&num;8217&semi;t have to sell the property back to you and can evict you&period; According to the FDIC&comma; the property usually changes hands several times after the deed is signed&comma; and the scammers can take out a new mortgage that is hundreds of thousands higher than your existing loan&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>This nightmare scenario results in homeowners signing away the rights to their own property and still being responsible for their mortgage payments&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h3 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Bankruptcy and Foreclosure Scams<&sol;h3>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Similar to other scams&comma; bankruptcy scammers promise to negotiate with your lender on your behalf and prevent foreclosure&period; The scammer may ask you to sign your deed while you continue to make payments to the scammer&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The scammer then pockets your money and files for bankruptcy on your behalf&period; This temporarily stops the foreclosure&comma; but if you don&&num;8217&semi;t know about the bankruptcy filing and don&&num;8217&semi;t participate in your case&comma; the judge will dismiss the case and the foreclosure will continue&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>This is another scam that can cause you to lose your home to foreclosure and have the bankruptcy noted on your credit file&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h3 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Equity Stripping<&sol;h3>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Equity stripping is a method of reducing equity to protect it from creditors&period; This can be a legitimate tool for homeowners threatened with foreclosure&comma; but it&&num;8217&semi;s also used by predatory lenders to deprive people of their property&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>An investor buys the property from an owner threatened with foreclosure at a discounted price and then rents it back to the owner&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Scammers may try to pressure the owner into a new&comma; more expensive loan&period; If the owner doesn&&num;8217&semi;t pay&comma; the bank pursues foreclosure against him or her&period; The owner may also be tricked into selling the property to the scammer without knowing it&period; The new owner can raise the rent and evict the former owner for non-payment&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The fraudster can pay off or refinance the mortgage and appropriate equity that the owner may have built up over the years&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h3 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Loan Flipping<&sol;h3>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Loan flipping is a form of predatory lending in which property owners who are in financial distress are tricked into refinancing their homes so the lender can collect fees&period; The homeowner may get some money in their bank account as a result of the deal&comma; but the bottom line is a loss due to high fees&comma; increased interest rates and prepayment penalties&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Sometimes the scammers add a balloon payment due after just a few years of the new mortgage&comma; forcing the homeowner to refinance again or lose their home to foreclosure&period; The scammer then offers to refinance the home for additional fees&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h3 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Refinance Scams<&sol;h3>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Refinance scams are another form of predatory lending&comma; in which low mortgage rates and fees are promised and emails&comma; phone calls&comma; and mailers are sent to homeowners who are having difficulty making their payments&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The scammers often collect personal information they claim to need to start the process&comma; but they use the information to steal your identity&period; Other scams ask homeowners to wire fees or sign over ownership of their home to the scammers&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h3 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Protect Yourself from Foreclosure Scammers<&sol;h3>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li>Beware of companies calling themselves &&num;8220&semi;mortgage counselors&comma;&&num;8221&semi; &&num;8220&semi;foreclosure services&comma;&&num;8221&semi; &&num;8220&semi;mortgage rescue services&&num;8221&semi; or similar&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>Beware of companies that contact you or advertise with you when your home is listed for foreclosure&period;<br>Never pay fees in advance&period; It&&num;8217&semi;s against federal law for mortgage relief service providers to require or receive an upfront payment before your lender has completed the mortgage modification or other agreement&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>Don&&num;8217&semi;t pay your mortgage payments to anyone except your lender or loan servicer&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>Don&&num;8217&semi;t transfer your property deed or title to anyone unless you intend to sell it and give up ownership permanently&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>Stay in touch with your lender or loan servicer&period; If you want to refinance or modify your loan&comma; contact your lender first&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>If you need help&comma; contact a counselor approved by the U&period;S&period; Department of Housing and Urban Development&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h3 class&equals;"wp-block-heading"><br>Protect Yourself from Predatory Lending<&sol;h3>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li>Don&&num;8217&semi;t sign paperwork you don&&num;8217&semi;t understand&period; If you need assistance&comma; ask other professionals for help&period; Check the credentials of attorneys&comma; real estate agents&comma; loan officers and companies that broker mortgage loans&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>Build a network of trusted advisors with whom you can talk about the process and ask for recommendations for professional help&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>Find out about fees and interest rates&period; Question the lender if any of these factors seem unusually high&period;<br>Find out about your credit score and be aware that your credit score will affect whether you qualify for a loan&period; Beware of lenders who claim that a poor credit score isn&&num;8217&semi;t a barrier to getting a loan&period; It&&num;8217&semi;s&comma; and your credit score&comma; among other factors&comma; affects the interest rate you can receive&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>Don&&num;8217&semi;t sign documents with blank spaces that a lender can later fill in with terms you didn&&num;8217&semi;t agree to&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>Never act rashly&semi; if you&&num;8217&semi;re pressured in any way&comma; there is a good chance you&&num;8217&semi;ll be scammed&period; Always do your homework&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading"><br>Report mortgage fraud<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>If you believe you have been the victim of fraud or identity theft&comma; report it&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li>Your local law enforcement agency<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>The <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;reportfraud&period;ftc&period;gov&sol;&num;&sol;" data-type&equals;"URL" data-id&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;reportfraud&period;ftc&period;gov&sol;&num;&sol;">Federal Trade Commission<&sol;a><&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>Your <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;atg&period;wa&period;gov&sol;fileacomplaint&period;aspx" data-type&equals;"URL" data-id&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;atg&period;wa&period;gov&sol;fileacomplaint&period;aspx">state&&num;8217&semi;s attorney general&&num;8217&semi;s office<&sol;a><&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>The <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;bbb&period;org&sol;scamtracker&sol;reportscam" data-type&equals;"URL" data-id&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;bbb&period;org&sol;scamtracker&sol;reportscam">Better Business Bureau<&sol;a><&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;becu&period;org&sol;blog&sol;mortgage-scams-are-real-in-2021-how-to-avoid-them" data-type&equals;"URL" data-id&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;becu&period;org&sol;blog&sol;mortgage-scams-are-real-in-2021-how-to-avoid-them">Source of Articles<&sol;a> Writing of <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;becu&period;org&sol;blog&sol;authors&sol;katie-skipper">Katie J&period; Skipper<&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;

Mortgage ScamsMortgage Scams Scheme