Overview
The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) received a complaint from a Washington consumer regarding an imposter scam of at least one licensed mortgage loan servicing company.
Allegations
The consumer reported they were in contact with their mortgage loan servicer about possible loan modification options. Later, an individual who used the mortgage loan servicer’s logo in written communications and claimed to be an employee of the company, offered the consumer a loan modification with a time limit to accept. The consumer accepted the offer and when the consumer attempted to call the individual, the consumer reported the phone number was disconnected.
After accepting the proposed loan modification, the consumer received an email from the individual. A new “employee” using the mortgage servicer’s logo told the consumer that the foreclosure sale date of the consumer’s property had been moved up and told the consumer to vacate the home if the consumer did not want to be removed by local authorities.
When the consumer attempted to contact their current mortgage loan servicer about the accepted modification and the foreclosure sale, the consumer’s current mortgage loan servicer stated that the offer was not made by the company and that there was not a scheduled foreclosure sale date.
The consumer provided the following contact information for the individual they were in contact with:
Jason Laveaux
+1 (888)*347*4307
foreclosure@fhahardships-assistance.com
The Department confirmed with the mortgage loan servicer that Jason Laveaux is not their employee. The mortgage loan servicer also confirmed that the email address is not theirs. From the Department’s review of the email address, it appears that the email address is not related to a federal agency or a working website.
How To Protect Yourself
Consumers should take the following steps to protect themselves:
- Check the sender’s email address
Review the sender’s email address for any email that talks about your mortgage. Scams often include:- Misspellings (Ex. Amazan.com instead of Amazon.com)
- Symbols or numbers instead of letters (Ex. Amaz0n.com instead of Amazon.com)
- A department or agency you were not in in communication with. This could include receiving an email from an address claiming to be an individual representing your mortgage company or a federal agency, when you have only been in contact with your current mortgage loan servicer.
- If you do not recognize the email address, or believe the email address is incorrect, first verify contact information for your current mortgage loan servicer, then contact the company directly. Avoid calling any numbers listed in the suspicious email, or clicking any links within the email.
- Be cautious of red flags in the body of the email
Be suspicious of emails that contain:- Urgent or threatening language
- Requests for personal information like bank details and social security numbers
- Spelling and grammar errors
For Washington Residents
If you are having trouble paying your mortgage, are behind on your mortgage, or facing foreclosure, housing counseling is available to you at no cost. If you would like to talk to a housing counselor, call the Washington Homeownership Hotline at 1-877-894-HOME (1-877-894-4663). They will be able talk to you about your situation, evaluate options, and explain assistance programs that may be available to you.
Who To Contact If You're A Victim of Fraud
If you feel you have been the victim of a scam you can contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357) or online at www.ftc.gov. See also more information from the FTC about these scams.
Or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) at 1-855-411-CFPB (2372) or online at www.consumerfinance.gov.
You can visit to www.preventloanscams.org and fill out the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network’s complaint form online and get more information on Loan Modification scams.
If the scammers already have your bank account information, social security number, or other personal information, you may be a victim of identity theft. You can contact your bank and the three major credit bureaus to take appropriate precautions. The FTC has information for victims of identity theft online at www.ftc.gov.
If you feel you have been the victim of a scam involving the internet you can contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center online at www.ic3.gov.
If you feel you have been the victim of a financial scam and are concerned about your personal financial information, you can contact your banking institution and the three major credit bureaus. Procedures for contacting the credit bureaus are available on the FTC’s website at www.ftc.gov.
Keep informed about common scams. Visit www.consumer.ftc.gov and click on “Scams” for information about recent scams.