Foreclosure Rescue Scams RevealedScam #10 of the Dirty Dozen - Foreclosure ScamsForeclosure Rescue Scams - #10) The Shared Interest Scam In this scheme the homeowner is approached with a far-fetched plan that involves transferring partial interest ("interest" in this case refers to "ownership") in the home to several different people or even to fictitious people or bogus companies. Each partial owner files for bankruptcy one after the other. As we discussed in the Loan Modification Scam (#8), filing for bankruptcy does postpone foreclosure. If several bankruptcies are filed in succession, the foreclosure will be postponed again and again. This method may sound like the only hope to a desperate homeowner who has tried other methods that failed. He is so beaten down, discouraged, and confused that he just swallows hard and agrees to go through with it. Some scammers have perpetrated the shared interest scheme in conjunction with the loan modification scam (#8). The con man gets you to sign the property over to him, then, without your knowledge, he signs over partial interest to several (maybe bogus) parties, then starts the successive filings for bankruptcy. This action can stave of foreclosure for up to a year. Since the foreclosure date has passed, and you are still in your house, the scammer says he has done his job and expects his fee. You pay him. The foreclosure scam con artist goes on his merry way never to be seen again. Eventually, the court catches on that the bankruptcy filings are fraudulent. The foreclosure scammer may never have informed you that the other parties involved were fake. He may have shown you papers that said your mortgage went to another company. You, of course, started making mortgage payments to this "company." Now, you find that there is no company. You have been paying your payments to the con man, who has disappeared. People who fall prey to this scam almost always end up losing their homes. Red flags to look for: • You are asked to sign over the deed to your home • You will be sharing ownership of your home with unknown parties. • You may be informed that there will be several filings for bankruptcy – one filing after another. • You are told that this is your last hope to save your home. • You are pressured to sign documents and to surrender private financial details. Things to keep in mind: • Even if you are out of options, going through a foreclosure is less damaging than committing fraud and/or having a bankruptcy on your record. A foreclosure on your record is bad enough without adding bankruptcy and fraud to it.
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