Man, this is sad. It is rare when a government program actually works right out of the box like the foreclosure prevention Hope Now Program has.
But where there is success you will find the parasitic scum following quickly looking to take advantage of a good thing. Scam artists have gone as far to copy the web site of Hope Now and then sending the people to a different for pay site. Another scam that popped up was copying the Hope Now mailing going out and sending the homeowners to a site that charges then for advice.
I am not sure if there is a punishment for this, but if there is these scam artist should be prosecuted to the fullest extent.
HOPE NOW Executive Director Faith Schwartz told the meeting of the Fed’s advisory panel that one scam involved the creation of a Web site that mirrored the alliance’s own site down to small details. That Web site has since been shut down.
She also said ‘copycat’ mailings had been going out that match letters HOPE NOW sends to distressed homeowners, but which contained a different toll-free number to call for assistance. The homeowner is then charged a fee for making the call.
“All of the regulators and all of us need to be vigilant about making sure that all services are free. We have to get out to the media and the public that counseling should be free, validate who you are talking to,” she told Reuters. via Reuters.
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Wherever there is desperation or greed, scams will appear! Here in Europe on the Costa del Sol many companies are being exposed for their underhanded methods of promotion and dodgy dealings. There is just as much if not more to be made from those desperate to sell risking foreclosure and the like, than there is from the underhanded sale in the first place.
I got scammed out of 1800.00 to help with modification on my house, now going to lose are home. and this place is the pitts. location cherry hill new jersy, what a scam, yes they say we have lawyers to help you save your home, and after you pay them, they change there websites and cannot never leave a message or talk to anyone, even there e-mail had changed, so please be careful, don't lose your home like i'm planning to do, Jackie.
Ya know folks, I searched to find articles like this and found that the article was a SCAM too! I went to the direct link and phone number that THEY suggested as "legit", and they did indeed ASK for my ACCOUNT NUMBER!
http://www.419legal.org/blog/2008/10/27/hope-now-…
quoted as one of the ways to fraud.."getting us to divulge confidential information like Social Security Numbers and bank account numbers."
Well, it seems we all have to do our homework…AVOID!!!