INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Attorney General’s Office has issued a warning to Indiana homeowners about scams involving mortgage-relief services.
Here’s how the scam works. A business or individual reaches out to you offering mortgage-relief services or help with foreclosure.
They typically will ask for a fee up front by promising to lower payments or save your home, but then they do not deliver.
WRTV Investigates spoke with Chase Haller, section chief of the Homeowner Protection Unit at the Indiana Attorney General’s Office.
“It's important for people to realize that when there's a foreclosure filing that's actually public record, and so a scammer can get that information very easily and target those homeowners with direct mailings or even try to get their other contact information to reach them,” said Haller.
If a business asks for a fee up front or tells you to stop communicating with your lender, consider it a red flag.
It’s also a red flag if they insist you pay by cashier’s check, wire transfer or mobile payment app.
“They may reach out to someone and actually ask them to transfer title to their property, which is obviously even a bigger concern,” said Haller. “Ultimately, you could lose title to your house, which is obviously a big deal for most people. That's their most significant financial asset that they have.”
Haller said Indiana is the leading state right now in foreclosure activity, which means Indiana homeowners are a target for scammers.
“We want people to be aware of this and to avoid it, and especially if somebody asks you to transfer title to your property, you want to be very skeptical about that and make sure you're dealing with somebody who's HUD approved,” said Haller.
Unlike many other types of scams, mortgage-relief scams often come from inside the United States and Indiana.
The Attorney General’s Office provided documents showing enforcement actions against bad actors in Marion and Floyd Counties.
“In one case, we were able to obtain title back to the property to the original homeowner,” said Haller.
If you’ve been impacted by this scam, contact Investigative Reporter Kara Kenney at Kara.Kenney@wrtv.com.
You can also file a complaint with the Indiana Attorney General’s Office by clicking here.
The Federal Trade Commission says the scam can take multiple forms:
Phony Counseling
- Scammers say they are: housing counselors or lawyers, or that they represent a law firm or they’re from the government. The scammers say they’ll handle all the details of a deal with your lender to lower your mortgage payments or save your home from foreclosure. They’ll typically tell you not to contact your lender, lawyer, housing counselor, or credit counselor. They may tell you to make your mortgage payments directly to them — rather than to your lender — or to transfer your property deed to them.
Forensic Audits
- Scammers say they are: mortgage loan “auditors,” or “foreclosure prevention auditors,” lawyers, or other experts. They’ll review your mortgage documents to see if your lender complied with the law. They say the audit can help you avoid foreclosure, speed the loan modification process, lower the amount you owe, or even cancel your loan.
Rent-to-Buy Ripoffs
- Scammers say: “If you give us the deed to the home, we’ll get our own financing to save the home from foreclosure.” These scammers say you can stay there as a renter and your rent payments — supposedly — will go to helping you buy the home back from them later.
