Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Foreclosure Assistance: Protect Yourself from Scam Artists

By Michael Geoffrey

If you are unfortunate enough to have fallen behind on your mortgage payments, foreclosure will loom large on the horizon that will mean losing your home and also falling prey to unscrupulous people that may try and cheat you of your property and rights.

The worst part of it is that many of these people are very clever and can hide their dishonesty very well and will not think twice about doing you out of your money, and worse still, your home as well.

Foreclosure Fraud: A Growing Problem

You may well be aware that US foreclosures are rising and so too are the numbers of scams and so you need to protect you from foreclosure assistance fraud and the best way would be to learn the methods employed by scamsters and how they dupe people into believing their well disguised fraudulent offers and aid to you.

Being prepared well before the eventuality will improve your chances of avoiding becoming the next victim of their fraudulent schemes.

Foreclosure assistance fraud focuses on individuals who have fallen into a tight financial situation and are no longer able to make their home mortgage payments. Scam artists who target such people use a strategy often referred to as equity skimming. Using this method, the person committing fraud will approach a homeowner and offer to help them to make their remaining mortgage payments by buying their home from them. They also claim that this will help the person to keep their credit history clean.

The trick is that these lying scammers want you to give them the title to the home. They promise to give you part of the money that they earn from selling the home. What they actually do, though, is use the title to the property to earn rent. In the meantime, you will still be foreclosed on by the bank or lending agency that you owe money to and, even though you no longer have the title, you will be held responsible for all mortgage payments.

Never forget that a plan to help you avoid foreclosure proceedings that involves you giving your propertys title to another person is almost certainly a fraudulent offer. Stay away from such so called assistance. - 15224

About the Author: