The Connecticut Department of Banking is warning debtors to be aware of a new scam in which people posing as debt collectors threaten arrest unless payday loans are repaid. “This is kind of a new low,” Banking Commissioner Howard Pitkin said. The scammers, who appear to be located offshore, gain information on people who apply for payday loans online. They then call the debtor and harass them at work, at home and sometimes contact neighbors. They even say they are going to send federal…

Banks Are Swamped With Short Sales, Sandbaggers Abound Clearly the wreckage of the financial collapse in 2008 is still being felt. No where is that more apparent or profound than the housing market. We should have known, right? I mean when housing prices blew up and then kept climbing, deep down we knew we just didn’t want to admit it.  We just kept counting the increase of our investment with bright wide eyes. Well that changed. Too many unqualified buyers…

Scammers Take Advantage Of Those Hardest Hit $63 Million dollars have been reported lost by people fallen victim to mortgage modification scams in New York and California and $1 Billion dollars nationwide, according to  an article by Jim Puzzanghera of the Los Angeles Times.  U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder and other officials on Tuesday said the government’s Distressed Homeowner Initiative had filed criminal charges against 530 people during the fiscal year that ended Oct. 1. “Distressed homeowner schemes have…

US News Reports That Seniors Are An Increasing Fraud Scam Target Imagine working hard all your life, putting money away for a rainy day, just like you’re supposed to, only to have it swiped by a scammer with a good line. The Federal Trade Commission’s annual report showed that consumer complaints increased more than 24% from 2010. The ten most complaints received: Identity theft – 279,156 (15%). Debt collection – 180,928 (10%). Prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries – 100,208 (6%). Shop-at-home…

Beware of companies promising to erase your debt for pennies on the dollar. Recently a lawsuit was filed against Freedom Fidelity Management, Freedom Financial Management, and named Alliance 8.  All of the above are the same business entity. The complaint includes unlawful business practices such as illegal fee provisions contained in contracts, misconduct and non-compliance of financial industry laws in various states including Washington and California. Laws in various states across the county dictate the amount a debt consolidation company…

Preying On Those Of Us Who Can Least Afford To Be Scammed Why does one consider a “Work From Home” business?  Extra money, unemployed, circumstances such as taking care of elderly parents or physically or mentally challenged children are a few reasons.  So it becomes even more insidious when a company (or scammer) offers an “opportunity”, when the only real opportunity is for them, not you. Sometime in 2009 ads starting popping up including: “Google Job Opportunities,” “Google Money Master,”…