Attorneys general warn against mortgage-relief scams

SPOKANE — State attorneys general in Idaho and Washington are warning of mortgage-foreclosure-rescue scams that target homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages by offering to help if they pay large upfront fees.

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said such scams are now the top source of consumer complaints to his office. Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna dubbed the perpetrators "crooks" and "fraudsters who claim to offer mortgage relief."

Both of them said homeowners having trouble paying their mortgages should contact their lender directly; help in that process is free from nonprofit, HUD-certified counselors.

Idaho's Wasden has two lawsuits pending against Kootenai County mortgage-modification services and several other investigations ongoing statewide. McKenna's office has filed nine such lawsuits since 2007.

"Really, you need to be wary of anybody that asks you for money upfront because those are the types of organizations that we believe just really aren't on the up-and-up," said Kristin Alexander, spokeswoman for McKenna. "You can get assistance for free."

McKenna's office has a foreclosure and mortgage assistance Web page for Washington residents at www.atg.wa.gov/foreclosure.aspx.

Washington residents also can visit www.homeownership.wa.gov or call the state's homeownership information hotline at 877-894-4663. That hotline provides information for Washington homeowners about legal help for those who can't afford a lawyer, through a partnership of the Washington State Bar Association and the Northwest Justice Project called the Home Foreclosure Legal Aid Project.

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Operation Stolen Hope, a nationwide effort to target foreclosure-rescue and loan-modification scams, which it said are a growing concern nationwide.

"These operators targeted consumers who were on the brink of financial disaster, and instead of holding them back, they pushed them over," FTC Chairman Jon Liebowitz said.