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Common Scams
upfront
Upfront Fee Scam, also known as “Phony Counseling” or
“Phantom Help”
The fraudster promises, for
an upfront fee, to negotiate with homeowner’s bank to
pay down back-payments, but scammer ultimately takes the
money and disappears.
B&S
Refinance fraud, also
known as “Bait & Switch”
Victims sign over ownership of the house, thinking they
are signing documents for a new loan at a lower payment
level. This is a trick: you’ve signed documents that
surrender the title of your house to the scam artist in
return for a “rescue” loan.
leaseback
Lease-back or
Repurchase Scams
Con
artists promise to pay a mortgage and lease it back to
their victims if the consumer signs over the deed. The
scammer then raises the rent, sells the house, steals
equity, or even evicts the tenant.
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy Schemes
The
scammer encourages the victims to stop paying their
mortgage and offers to file bankruptcy for the consumer,
for a fee.
appraisal
Appraisal Fraud
An
appraiser — in cahoots with a bank — overvalues the
home, then secures an unnecessarily large loan at high
interest rates for the homebuyer. Another scenario is
that the appraiser undervalues the home in order to
justify a short sale and subsequent re-sale at market
value for profit.
What to do if You’ve Been
Scammed
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Report the details to
the
FBI,
through the Southern Nevada Mortgage Fraud Taskforce
(702-584-555), or the
Federal Trade
Commission
(1-877-382-4357) as well as your local
consumer-protection agencies such as the BBB.
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If you’ve been scammed
by a bogus or unlicensed loan mod or foreclosure
consultant, file a complaint with the
Division of Mortgage
Lending
at (702) 486-0780 or (775) 684-7060.
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Contact a legitimate
HUD-approved housing
counselors;
their services are FREE.
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