Beware bogus loan, e-mail enticements

Beware bogus loan and IRS enticements Scams abound.

Be on the alert for these, consumers.

About four months ago, a Varina resident got a solicitation from a company offering to help her get a mortgage-loan modification.

The resident, who was not facing foreclosure but wanted better loan terms, decided to try the company out to see what it could do for her. The company offered its services for $1,000, $500 of it upfront deducted from her bank account.

She agreed to let the company withdraw the remaining $500 the next month. Instead, it deducted the balance within a few days and failed to get her loan modified.

She got back $500, reported the company to the Better Business Bureau and got her loan modified directly through her mortgage company.

. . .

The Better Business Bureau of Central Virginia Inc. issued an alert warning on Wednesday about so-called foreclosure rescue companies that prey on desperate homeowners.

Many claim they can help the homeowner save his or her home, or get them better mortgage terms even if they aren't facing foreclosure.

If you are facing a foreclosure notice, contact your lender immediately. It may be able to negotiate a new repayment schedule.

The local BBB said that so far this year in central Virginia, it has received about 3,000 calls and online hits from consumers regarding loan-modification solicitations.

That's up from the 1,500 inquiries for all of last year.

Only three people actually filed complaints.

Barbara Homiller, vice president at the local BBB, warns homeowners to "be very careful about paying a fee in advance of receiving services. What's happening is there aren't any services being provided."

The BBB advises consumers not to deal with anyone who:

• guarantees to stop a foreclosure process;

• tells you not to contact your lender, lawyer or a credit or housing counselor;

• collects a fee before providing any services;

• accepts payment only by cashier's check or wire transfer;

• encourages you to lease your home and buy it back over time; and

• tells you to make your mortgage payments directly to it, not to your lender.

  . . .

An old scam that keeps rearing its head is an e-mail claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service offering a refund.

A Henrico County resident got such an e-mail, which claimed, "You are eligible to receive a tax refund of $246.30 under 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code."

It didn't even address her by name.

All she had to do was click a link, "IRS e-file form," then follow the instructions and wait three to six days for processing.

If you get a similar e-mail, consumers, delete it. It's trash.

IRS spokesman Jim Dupree said it's the work of con artists phishing around for personal information that they can steal and use fraudulently.

In some cases, the e-mails are loaded with spyware, malicious computer coding that embeds itself in your computer and electronically looks for financial information to steal, he said.

"I would advise people not to respond to those e-mail messages and not to click on the link," he said. "The IRS is never going to initiate communications with a taxpayer by e-mail," only by snail mail.

"We're asking people who get these letters to forward them to ."

Contact Iris Taylor at (804) 649-6349 or .