The advertisement you responded to is a FAKE advertisement posted by the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation to warn and educate consumers about the loan modification scams that exist in today’s marketplace. If you had responded to an offer like this, you could’ve been the victim of a scam like many other distressed homeowners today.
ModExperts is NOT a real company!
Scammers prey on troubled consumers by creating websites that look and sound professional. These websites offer to provide legitimate services and guarantee to solve all your mortgage problems – no questions asked. If you fall for a scam such as this, you could end up paying fees for a service that you will never receive. Even more risky, you could potentially lose the opportunity to get the help you need from a legitimate service, while under the impression that scammers such as ModExperts™ are in the process of saving your home. DO NOT GET SCAMMED.
Here are some tips to help you detect similar scams:
These tips should serve as a way alert you to websites that appear professional and helpful, but are in fact, scams. While it is often difficult to differentiate between the two, if you see tactics that resemble the ones listed above, be attentive and understand that it is extremely important for you and your financial well being to avoid such websites.
Guarantees to get you a loan modification or stop your house from being foreclosed upon
No legitimate service can guarantee you a loan modification or the ability to stop a foreclosure process. The process of obtaining a loan modification requires approval, and you can never be guaranteed that you will be approved – especially when a company has not even glanced over your information. If you see words or phrases such as “guaranteed,” “no problem,” or “100 % money back,” red flags should go up!
The company:
- Recommends that you cut off contact with the lender or any counselor that you may be working with
- Advises you to stop making all your mortgage payments
- Asks you to send your mortgage payment to someone other than your loan servicer
- Advises you to transfer ownership of your home
- Makes only verbal promises that the company does not put in writing
- Instructs you to sign a document with blank spaces or lines
Charges upfront fees
Any service that charges upfront fees should be an immediate red flag for you. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s regulations prohibit charging advance fees to homeowners in order to receive services that help avoiding foreclosure through a loan modification.
Claims to help you within a couple of weeks
Again, this should immediately be a red flag. A loan modification process is not one that can be completed with a few phone calls and conversations between your lender and your loan modification service. This process can take up to several months, and anyone that guarantees you results in a couple of weeks is not someone you should trust.
Uses unfounded statistics
This is another common tactic that scam artists use to lure distressed homeowners in to their traps. If you see phrases such as “our success rate is over 97%” or “we’ve helped over 250,000 homeowners already,” do not let them convince you that the service being advertised is a legitimate one.
This is a
SCAM!!!
ModExperts is NOT a real company!
The advertisement you responded to is a FAKE advertisement posted by the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation to warn and educate consumers about the loan modification scams that exist in today’s marketplace. If you had responded to an offer like this, you could’ve been the victim of a scam like many other distressed homeowners today.
Other hints that indicate you are getting scammed…
Protect Yourself
1. Know who you are dealing with before you provide anyone with any payments or personal information, make sure you have investigated the company. You can do this by checking your local Better Business Bureau to see if the company is legitimate or if any complaints have been filed against it.
2. Get everything in writing. Anything that is not writing, may not be legally binding. To be able to protect yourself and your rights, you need to ensure that you get written and signed documents of all promises being made to you by the company you are dealing with. Keep copies of these documents.
3. Know what you are signing
Make sure you read and understand every document that you are signing very clearly. If you cannot understand a document, seek help. Do not sign any documents with blank spaces or errors.
4. Do not trust anyone to make your mortgage payments. Make sure you are always making your mortgage payments yourself, and directly to your lender or mortgage servicer. Do not trust a third party to make these payments for you.
5. Clearly understand your rights to your home. Do not sign over the ownership of your home to anyone unless you clearly understand what will happen once you sign over the deed. Again, if you do not understand the legally context of your arrangement, seek help.
REMEMBER: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
General Resources
If you believe you are a victim of a scam or would like to report suspicious activity, you should immediately contact:
Attorney General of Massachusetts
Hotline: (617) 727-8400
Better Business Bureau
National Hotline: (703) 276-0100
If you require assistance regarding legitimate mortgage counseling agencies, you should contact:
