U.S. warns mortgage fraudsters are eyeing rescue
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Fraudsters are using the publicity around foreclosure-prevention plans to lure desperate homeowners into costly scams, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Monday.
As the housing crisis has intensified and the government has hatched several plans to aid troubled borrowers, the number of mortgage scams has mushroomed, several government agencies said at a press conference.
“American homeowners desperately need the relief this program offers, but the very last thing they need is to be taken advantage of as they try to hold on to their homes,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told reporters.
