Avoid Foreclosure Rescue Scams(NAPS)—Following a few sug-

gestions can help save manyhomeowners struggling with mort-gages and other debt from seeingthings go from bad to worse.

For one thing, you can get freeassistance from a housing coun-selor approved by the U.S. Depart-ment of Housing and Urban Devel-opment at (888) 995-4673 andmakinghomeaffordable.gov.

As for people or companiesoffering mortgage modificationassistance or foreclosure relief,Federal Trade Commission rulesban advance fees, require cleardisclosures and prohibit false ormisleading claims.

Experts at the Office of theComptroller of the Currency sug-gest you beware of these 10 lines:

1. “Pay us $1,000 and we’llsave your home.” Companiescannot collect fees until you havea written, acceptable offer fromyour lender and a written descrip-tion of the key changes to yourmortgage.

2. “I guarantee I will saveyour home—trust me.” Bewareof guarantees like this one.Providers must give you realisticevidence for any claim theymake.

3. “Sign over your home andwe’ll let you stay in it.” Signingover the deed gives the recipientthe power to evict you, raise yourrent or sell your house; and you’llstill have to pay the mortgage.

4. “Stop paying your mort-gage.” Don’t trust anyone whotells you to stop making mortgagepayments to your lender or ser-vicer, even if that person promisesto do it for you. You could loseyour home and hurt your creditrating.

5. “If your lender calls, don’ttalk to them.” Providers cannottell you to stop communicatingwith your lender or servicer.

6. “Your lender never had thelegal authority to make a loan.”Don’t listen to anyone who claims“secret laws” can erase your debt.

7. “Just sign this now; we’llfill in the blanks later.” Readand understand everything yousign. Never let anyone else fill outpaperwork for you. Don’t let any-one pressure you into signing any-thing.

8. “Call (800) Fed-Loan.”Beware of companies that imitateofficial federal programs.Providers must tell you they areaffiliated with the government.

9. “File for bankruptcy andkeep your home.” Filing forbankruptcy stops foreclosure onlytemporarily. If you don’t makeyour mortgage payments, thebankruptcy court will eventuallylet the lender foreclose. Some scamartists may file bankruptcy in yourname, without your knowledge, totemporarily stop foreclosure andgive you the impression that he orshe has negotiated a new agree-ment on your behalf.

10. “Why haven’t you repliedto our offer? Do you want tolive on the streets?” High pres-sure tactics signal trouble.

You can learn more at: helpwithmybank.gov, makinghomeaffordable.gov, consumerfinance.gov,consumeraction.gov and nw.org.

Don’t fall for foreclosure scams.Let a HUD-approved counselorhelp.

Did You Know?Experts at the Office of the

Comptroller of the Currency sayhomeowners with mortgage trou-bles can get free assistance from ahousing counselor approved by theDepartment of Housing and UrbanDevelopment (HUD) by calling(888) 995-HOPE (4673) or visitingmakinghomeaffordable.gov.

Beware 10 scammers’ lines. ///Avoid Foreclosure Rescue Scams