Foreclosure Scams: Misrepresenting Affiliations
This one isn't tied only to foreclosures assistance scams or other types of real estate scams. This is a tactic used by many unethical companies and individuals to help them commit their crimes.
Sometimes you wonder why so many people could fall into the trap. The reality is that people want to believe there's hope and they want to believe they can get help. The truth is there is hope and there is help, but you have to be careful if someone is asking for a lot up front and sounds too good to be true.
The reason these scams are so successful is because they gain your confidence. The 'con' in con man and con game is short for the word confidence.
The Times of Trenton has an article about the Mercer County Clerk's Office trying to alert individuals that they have received calls about a foreclosure assistance firm that allegedly is claiming to be "working with the county's clerk's office.".
The Mercer County Clerk's Office is alerting residents to phone solicitations being conducted by a company claiming to represent the county.
Clerk Paula Sollami Covello said yesterday that calls are being made from a company that identifies it self as American Modification Agency (AMA) of Uniondale, N.Y., and claims to be "working with the county clerk's office," offering to help renegotiate the terms of mort gages.
...
Covello said residents with trouble paying their mortgages should call either the Consumer Credit Counseling of Central NJ at (609) 586-2574 or Foreclosure Help at 1-888-995-4673 for free advice.
The best way to prevent falling for this type of scam is to write down the name of the company contacting you, write down the name of the party they claim to be affiliated with then hang up and tell them you'll get back to them. Lookup the numbers for the entity they claim to be affiliated with and call them and ask if the claim is true. Also make sure the company they claim affiliation with is the entity you think it is and that they are relevant.
I have seen junk mail come in with companies that sound official and look like they come from a government agency, when in fact they are from a private company.
Just remember, scammers are counting on you to not know what to do and to feel panicked. You need to act and you need to act quickly if you're having problems, but you shouldn't let that stop you from taking some time to be smart about it.
Tags: assistance scam confidence county foreclosure-help
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I have received junk mail from mortgage lenders that is purposely designed to look like official Veterans Affairs Administration documents, to include displaying seals and symbols of the VA. Some of these letters contain NO disclaimer indicating that they are not agents of the Federal Government.
This has to be illegal. The question is, with whom do I file a complaint?
Posted by Steven M. Armstrong on January 02, 2009 at 01:07 PM EST #
Steven,
You should contact the organizations that they claim to be associated with. Call them and explain what you saw and ask if they have the use of the organization's symbol/logo was appropriate. If they don't ask, tell them you'd like to send or fax a copy of the letter.
Each state also has a department that oversees financial institutions. I would recommend contacting the one in your state and possibly the one in the state in which they are registered.
You can find a list of State Banking Authorities on that link.
Posted by Tom on January 02, 2009 at 01:36 PM EST #