Saturday, December 29, 2012

Watch Out For Those Government Logos On Solicitations Peddling Foreclosure Help


ConsumerAffairs reports:

  • You've seen the Internet ads. They feature President Obama's smiling face or the seal of a federal agency, suggesting the company making the offer has official sanction.

    They don't, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is urging consumers not to fall for this blatant scam.

    “No, really. Just because something has a government logo on it doesn’t mean that it’s legitimate,” the agency warns on its website.

    As a case in point, the CFPB points to enforcement action is has launched against two mortgage modification operations it accuses of ripping off struggling homeowners. The Websites, emails and other promotional materials bear government agency logos, letterhead or other markings that could mislead a consumer into thinking these services are associated with government agencies.

    The government claims these two companies took in more than $10 million by charging consumers for services that falsely promised to prevent foreclosures or renegotiate troubled mortgages.
For more, see Why you should be suspicious of government logos (Pretending to be government-sanctioned is a scammer's favorite ruse).

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