Mortgage Fraud Alert – Foreclosure Rescue
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As foreclosures continue to rise throughout the US, foreclosure scams tend to be a problem. Criminals use this as an opportunity to defraud and exploit vulnerable homeowners looking for financial help. Scam artists convince in trouble homeowners that they can save their homes from being foreclosed on through deed transfers and by paying up-front fees. This type of “foreclosure rescue” often involves a manipulated deed process that results in the preparation of forged deeds. In extreme instances, perpetrators may sell the home or secure a second loan without the homeowners’ knowledge, stripping the properties equity for personal gain. Mortgage Fraud Alert – Identity Theft
For example: The scam artist obtains and uses the account holder identification information to contact a financial institution and request an advance of funds on a HELOC account. Once the advance is approved, the perpetrator sends a fax to the financial institution requesting that the funds be wire transferred to another account. When the bank receives the fax request, they contact the account holder from the phone number on record in order to verify the request. However, the call is unknowingly forwarded to the perpetrator who verifies the account holder’s information to complete the wire transfer. |
Identity theft is a rising concern in the US and everyone probably knows someone that has been a victim to some extent. In the mortgage industry there is no exception. Stolen customer identification information is being used to compromise homeowners Home Equity Lines of Credit also known as HELOC accounts. To facilitate this scam, criminals pose as customers to establish HELOC internet account services and manipulate customer account verification processes, including rerouting telephone calls, forging signatures, using passwords, and reciting recent account history.