New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has announced a targeted advertising campaign and consumer education initiative to help New York homeowners spot, avoid, and report mortgage rescue scams. Mortgage rescue scams prey on homeowners who are in foreclosure or at risk of foreclosure. Typically, the scammers will provide what seems like a lifeline out of foreclosure, but then will bilk the homeowner while providing little or no help.
The advertisements will target homeowners in areas of the region hardest-hit by these scams, appearing on billboards and in Facebook ads, particularly in ZIP codes that have reported these types of scams most frequently. The ads will direct homeowners to AGScamHelp.com where homeowners can find access to the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP)—a network of almost 90 housing counseling and legal service agencies funded by the AG’s office to provide free services to homeowners facing foreclosure.
“The most powerful tools to stop mortgage rescue scams are educated, vigilant homeowners,” said Schneiderman. “These scams are particularly pernicious because they take victims of the housing crash and make them victims again. My office will do all we can to ensure homeowners have the tools they need to protect themselves and we will continue to vigorously pursue scammers who target vulnerable homeowners.”
The AGScamHelp.com site and the related advertising campaign is supported using funds from the National Mortgage Settlement, the $25 Billion Agreement between 49 State Attorneys General, and the nation’s five largest Mortgage Servicers.
Nationwide, mortgage rescue scammers have conned $100 million from more than 42,000 homeowners, according to a December 2014 report by the Center for NYC Neighborhoods and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. To date, New York homeowners have submitted over 2,700 foreclosure rescue scam complaints to the Lawyer Committee for Civil Rights, documenting at least $8.25 million in losses. New York homeowners trail only California and Florida in the number of complaints reported to the Loan Modification Scam Database.
AGScamHelp App. In 2014, Schneiderman launched a web-based app in response to an uptick in complaints from lawyers and housing counselors about the prevalence of mortgage rescues scams. Homeowners can easily access AGScamHelp on their computers, smartphones and tablets. AGScamHelp has several informational features:
- Search Government-Vetted Companies: AGScamHelp will allow consumers to search the name of an individual or company to determine if that entity is a “government-vetted” agency. If the company searched is not a government-vetted agency, the consumer will be told to proceed with caution and advised with several tips on how to identify signs of a foreclosure rescue scam.
- Locate Nearby Counseling Partners: The web-based app also features an interactive map that will allow a consumer to find the nearest Homeowner Protection Program grantee.
- Report Scams: Consumers who have already been contacted by or are in the process of working with a company suspected of operating a foreclosure rescue scam will also have the option to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office.
- Get Tips: AGScamHelp offers details on how to recognize signs of a foreclosure rescue scam, including samples of scam letters and other resources utilized by fraudsters to target homeowners, and provides information about recent foreclosure scams that have been the subject of enforcement actions brought by the Attorney General’s Office and other law enforcement agencies.
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