Mortgage Concepts is a recurring video series covering best practices and compliance education for California mortgage loan originators. This video discusses common mortgage relief scams mortgage loan originators are likely to encounter in their business. For course credit toward renewing your NMLS license, visit firsttuesday.us.
Common mortgage relief scams
Financially vulnerable homeowners, like those seeking mortgage assistance relief services, are prime targets for fraudsters. As a mortgage loan originator, you are often a homeowner’s first line of defense and education against this type of fraud. Let’s take a look at today’s most common mortgage relief scams.
Scammers use a variety of tactics to locate homeowners in distress, like sifting through public foreclosure notices or placing misleading ads online. They use simple – but potentially deceptive – messages, like:
“Stop foreclosure today!”
“We have special relationships with banks to speed up approval!”
“100% Money Back Guarantee!”
Sound familiar? Scammers entice victims with similar promises in mortgage ads violating the Mortgage Acts and Practices Advertising rule.
Scam artists tell consumers that, for a fee, they’ll negotiate a deal with the lender to reduce the consumer’s mortgage payments or save their home from foreclosure. They may claim to be attorneys or represent a law firm. They may also tell the consumer not to contact their lender, lawyer or credit counselor….
