The Sad Reality

[Pedro Gonzalez]

A recent report from the FBI states that mortgage fraud is on the rise. The fraudulent events focuses on distressed homeowners who look for answers to troubled mortgages and find little help from their banks.

This report says one measure of mortgage fraud complaints is up 36 percent nationally. Most of the fraud schemes and scams are concentrated in California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada which have been hit hard by the housing market crash. As a result there are a large amount of mortgage modification and refinancing firms popping up in embattled housing markets.

The FBI report said the mortgage scams include fraudulent short sales, bankruptcy filings and reverse mortgage schemes, refinancings, modifications and sometimes arson to collect insurance money. Some of the fraud schemes hurt consumers and borrowers while others hurt original lenders, according to the FBI report. The increase of these fraudulent events in Arizona, has prompted the Arizona Attorney General's office and the Maricopa County Attorney to take action and investigate mortgage modification and refinancing outfits.

These scammers are pretending to consumers that they are government housing agencies empowered by the Barack Obama administration's stimulus and mortgage rescue programs.

It is important that our clients be aware of this fraudulent events. These scammers are taking advantage of the current economic situation and take advantage of distressed homeowners, who many times don't seem to find answers any where else.