For a number of reasons, the rate of home foreclosures is rising in the United States. In fact, the rate is up some 70% over a year ago. Part of this is due to rising interest rates that are making payments unaffordable to homeowners who bought their homes three or four years ago with adjustable rate mortgages. Many of these mortgages were set to adjust after three years, and the resulting increases in payments have left the homes unaffordable for their owners. With little recourse, thousands of owners have had to walk away from their homes. This unfortunate situation may be avoidable in some cases, particularly if the owners discuss their troubles with their lenders. Instead, many owners have answered ads posted by companies offering “foreclosure help”, hoping to find a way to keep their houses despite their financial troubles. In many cases, the owners not only fail to get the help they need, but they often end up literally giving their houses away to the companies they thought would help them keep them.
The scam is a common one that takes advantage of people in desperate situations. Mortgage companies that intend to foreclose on delinquent...