What we verified in “Loan modification and foreclosure rescue scams”

Statements and where we checked them

The statements with rules, figures or dates, with the exact place in the source and the date we checked them.

1. According to the CFPB, mortgage loan modification scams are schemes to take your money, often with a false promise of saving you from foreclosure; scammers may ask for upfront fees, promise to get you a modification, ask you to sign over the title to your property, ask you to sign papers you don't understand, tell you to pay someone other than your servicer or lender, or tell you to stop paying your mortgage; and you can report the company with a complaint to the CFPB online or at (855) 411-2372.

   Sources 1 · What are mortgage loan modification scams? (reviewed September 11, 2024): 'schemes to take your money – often by making a false promise of saving you from foreclosure'; 'Ask you to pay fees upfront to receive services'; 'Promise to get you a loan modification'; 'Ask you to sign over the title to your property'; 'Ask you to sign papers that you do not understand'; 'Say you should start making payments to someone other than your servicer or lender'; 'Tell you to stop making mortgage loan payments altogether'; 'you can report that company by submitting a complaint with the CFPB online or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372)' · Checked October 17, 2026

2. According to the CFPB, mortgage relief companies may not collect any fees until they have given you a written offer from your lender or servicer that you decide is acceptable, a written document from the lender or servicer describing the key changes to your mortgage if you accept, and a reminder that you have the right to reject the offer without any charge.

   Sources 1 · What are mortgage loan modification scams?, 'What a mortgage relief company must provide': 'Mortgage relief companies are not allowed to collect any fees until they have provided you with the following'; 'A written offer from your lender or servicer that you decide is acceptable'; 'describing the key changes to your mortgage that would result if you accept the offer'; 'A reminder that you have the right to reject the offer without any charge' · Checked October 17, 2026

3. According to the CFPB, if you can't pay your mortgage or worry about missing a payment, the first thing to do is call your servicer; HUD-approved housing counseling agencies can discuss your options, such as forbearance or a modified payment program; if you think you were the victim of a loan modification scam, you may want to consult an attorney, and there may be resources through your local bar association, legal aid or, for servicemembers, a Legal Assistance Office; and you can contact your state attorney general's office about state protections and to file a complaint.

   Sources 1 · What are mortgage loan modification scams?: 'The first thing to do is call your mortgage servicer'; 'can discuss options with you if you're having trouble paying your mortgage loan or reverse mortgage loan'; 'This may also include forbearance or a modified payment program'; 'you may also want to consult an attorney'; 'There may be resources to assist you through your local bar association, legal aid'; 'You can contact your state attorney general's office for more information about state protections as well as file a complaint' · Checked October 17, 2026

4. According to the CFPB, mortgage assistance and foreclosure relief scams target homeowners in financial trouble, often by mail or email with designs, emblems, logos or names that look or sound like government agencies; warning signs: they tell you to stop paying your mortgage (which can hurt your credit and limit your options), charge up-front fees, ask you to pay someone other than your lender or servicer, try to get you to sign over title (sometimes called 'rent to buy'), push you to sign papers you don't understand, pressure you to act immediately or claim to do a 'forensic audit' of your loan; HUD-approved housing counselors are available at no cost; real government officials never ask for payment to help you; if you think you've been scammed, report it immediately, because such a scam could cost you your home; and the CFPB complaint line serves callers in more than 180 languages.

   Sources 2 · How to spot and avoid foreclosure relief scams (modified June 4, 2025): 'designs, emblems, logos, or names that look or sound like government agencies'; 'Tells you to stop making mortgage loan payments. Doing that can hurt your credit score and limit your options'; 'Charges up-front fees'; 'Asks you to make your payments to someone other than your lender or servicer'; 'Tries to get you to sign over title to your property'; 'rent to buy'; 'Pushes you to sign papers or contracts that you don't understand'; 'Pressures you to act immediately'; 'forensic audit'; 'HUD-approved housing counselors are available at no cost to you'; 'Real government officials never ask for payment to help you'; 'If you think you've been scammed, report it immediately'; 'could cost you your home'; 'By phone (180+ languages)' · Checked October 17, 2026

5. According to the CFPB, you don't have to pay anyone to help you avoid foreclosure: help is available at no cost from your servicer or a HUD-approved housing counseling agency; other scam signs are a company guaranteeing it will change your mortgage terms or that you won't lose your home, or claiming government affiliation or using a logo that looks like a government seal but is slightly different; and the options your servicer might offer include refinancing, a loan modification, a repayment plan, forbearance, a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.

   Sources 3 · If I can't pay my mortgage loan, what are my options? (reviewed August 28, 2026): 'You don't have to pay anyone to help you avoid foreclosure'; 'The help you need is available at no cost to you from your servicer, or through a HUD-approved housing counseling agency'; 'The company guarantees it will get the terms of your mortgage changed'; 'The company guarantees you won't lose your home'; 'uses a logo that looks like a government seal but is slightly different'; 'Get a loan modification'; 'Work out a repayment plan'; 'Get forbearance'; 'Short-sell your home' · Checked October 17, 2026

6. According to the CFPB, HUD-approved housing counseling agencies provide foreclosure prevention counseling free of charge and can help you talk to your servicer and understand the options it offers; to find one, use the CFPB's tool, call the HOPE Hotline 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at (888) 995-4673, or call the CFPB at (855) 411-2372 to be connected to a counselor; the counselor will ask about your loan, such as what you owe and the date of your last payment, and may ask for pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements and other bills; and a counselor can't promise you will keep your home.

   Sources 4 · What is a HUD-approved housing counseling agency, and how can they help me? (reviewed September 11, 2024): 'HUD-approved housing counseling agencies provide foreclosure prevention counseling free of charge'; 'help you talk to your mortgage servicer and understand any options your servicer has offered'; 'Call the HOPE Hotline, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at (888) 995-HOPE (4673)'; 'Call the CFPB at (855) 411-CFPB (2372) to be connected to a housing counselor over the phone'; 'such as the amount you owe and the date of your last payment'; 'pay stubs, tax returns, recent bank statements'; 'can't promise that you will get to keep your home' · Checked October 17, 2026

7. Under Regulation O (12 CFR §1015.2), a mortgage assistance relief service is any service offered in exchange for payment to help you stop or postpone a foreclosure, get a modification of your loan (such as a lower interest rate, balance or payment), forbearance, more time to catch up, or negotiate a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure; your lender and your servicer do not count as providers of that service.

   Sources 5 · 12 CFR §1015.2, definition of 'Mortgage Assistance Relief Service': 'any service, plan, or program, offered or provided to the consumer in exchange for consideration'; 'Stopping, preventing, or postponing any mortgage or deed of trust foreclosure sale'; 'Negotiating, obtaining, or arranging a modification of any term of a dwelling loan, including a reduction in the amount of interest, principal balance, monthly payments, or fees'; 'Obtaining any forbearance or modification in the timing of payments'; 'A short sale of a dwelling'; 'A deed-in-lieu of foreclosure'; 'This term does not include'; 'The servicer of a dwelling loan' · Checked October 17, 2026

8. Under Regulation O (12 CFR §1015.3), anyone selling mortgage relief may not tell you that you cannot or should not contact your lender or servicer; or misrepresent the likelihood of getting the result, how long it will take, any link to the government, a government program, a nonprofit housing counseling agency or your lender, your obligation to keep paying, whether you will get legal representation, alternatives such as negotiating yourself or using a nonprofit counseling agency, how much you will save or the total cost.

   Sources 6 · 12 CFR §1015.3(a) ('that a consumer cannot or should not contact or communicate with his or her lender or servicer') and (b) ('The likelihood of negotiating, obtaining, or arranging any represented service or result'; 'The amount of time it will take'; 'is affiliated with, endorsed or approved by, or otherwise associated with'; 'Any nonprofit housing counselor agency or program'; 'The consumer's obligation to make scheduled periodic payments'; 'That the consumer will receive legal representation'; 'including negotiating directly with the dwelling loan holder or servicer'; 'The total cost to purchase the mortgage assistance relief service') · Checked October 17, 2026

9. Under Regulation O (12 CFR §1015.4), mortgage relief ads must say the company is not associated with the government and its service is not approved by the government or your lender; messages aimed at you must also say you may stop doing business with them at any time, that you may accept or reject the offer they obtain from your lender, that if you reject it you do not pay them, and what you would pay if you accept; if they promise a change to your loan, they must warn that your lender may not agree; written disclosures go under the heading 'IMPORTANT NOTICE'; and if they tell you to stop paying, they must warn that if you stop paying your mortgage you could lose your home and damage your credit.

   Sources 7 · 12 CFR §1015.4(a)(1) ('is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender'), (a)(2) ('Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan'), (a)(3) ('IMPORTANT NOTICE'), (b)(1) ('You may stop doing business with us at any time'; 'You may accept or reject the offer of mortgage assistance we obtain from your lender'; 'If you reject the offer, you do not have to pay us') and (c) ('If you stop paying your mortgage, you could lose your home and damage your credit rating') · Checked October 17, 2026

10. Under Regulation O (12 CFR §1015.5), anyone selling mortgage relief may not request or receive any payment until you have signed a written agreement with your lender or servicer that includes the offer they obtained; at that point they must give you, on a separate page, a notice that you may accept or reject the offer and that if you reject it you don't pay them, along with a notice from your lender describing the differences between your current loan and the new one (balance, rate, payments, arrears, fees and term); and if the offer is a trial modification, they must tell you that you may not qualify for a permanent one.

    Sources 8 · 12 CFR §1015.5(a) ('Request or receive payment of any fee or other consideration until the consumer has executed a written agreement between the consumer and the consumer's dwelling loan holder or servicer'), (b) ('You may accept or reject the offer. If you reject the offer, you do not have to pay us'; 'on a separate written page'), (c)(1) ('describes all material differences'; 'Principal balance'; 'Amount of any delinquent payments owing or outstanding'; 'Assessed fees or penalties') and (d)(1) ('may not qualify for a permanent mortgage loan modification') · Checked October 17, 2026

11. Under Regulation O (12 CFR §1015.6), anyone who gives substantial assistance or support to a mortgage relief provider while knowing, or consciously avoiding knowing, that the provider is breaking the rule also violates it.

    Sources 9 · 12 CFR §1015.6: 'provide substantial assistance or support to any mortgage assistance relief service provider when that person knows or consciously avoids knowing that the provider is engaged in any act or practice that violates this rule' · Checked October 17, 2026

12. Under Regulation O (12 CFR §1015.7), an attorney is exempt from the rule, except for the advance-fee ban, if they provide these services as part of the practice of law, are licensed in the state where you live or where your home is, and comply with state law; and they are also exempt from the advance-fee ban only if they deposit money received before performing legal services in a client trust account and follow state rules for those accounts.

    Sources 10 · 12 CFR §1015.7(a) ('An attorney is exempt from this part, with the exception of'; 'Provides mortgage assistance relief services as part of the practice of law'; 'Is licensed to practice law in the state in which the consumer'; 'Complies with state laws and regulations that cover the same type of conduct the rule requires') and (b) ('Deposits any funds received from the consumer prior to performing legal services in a client trust account') · Checked October 17, 2026

13. In a consumer advisory, the CFPB explained that federal law bans law firms, except in very limited circumstances, from requesting or receiving payment for help getting foreclosure relief, such as a modification, before you sign the agreement with your lender; that a lawyer or someone claiming to offer legal help who wants to be paid first may be breaking the law; that your mortgage company must agree before you can get a modification, so no one can guarantee one; that most licensed lawyers do not call or email you directly and push you to pay right away; and that if your mortgage company asks you to authorize a third party to act for you, you should authorize only someone trustworthy and be careful about what you authorize.

    Sources 11 · Consumer advisory: Don't fall for a foreclosure relief scam or bogus legal help (July 23, 2014; archived content): 'Federal law bans law firms—except under very limited circumstances—from requesting or receiving payment from you for help obtaining foreclosure relief'; 'If a lawyer or someone claiming to offer legal help wants to be paid first—before you receive a modification—they may be breaking the law'; 'Your mortgage company must agree before you can get a modification'; 'cannot guarantee you will get a loan modification'; 'Most licensed lawyers do not call or e-mail you directly and push you hard to pay money right away'; 'Only authorize a third party that is trustworthy' · Checked October 17, 2026

14. According to VA, if you are a Veteran or surviving spouse, VA provides counseling to avoid foreclosure even if your loan is not a VA loan; if your VA loan is 61 days past due, it automatically assigns a loan technician; and if you are behind, VA says to contact VA or your servicer to avoid scams or third-party companies trying to take advantage of you, and to work only with trusted organizations.

    Sources 12 · VA help to avoid foreclosure (updated September 23, 2026): 'we'll provide counseling—even if your loan isn't a VA-guaranteed loan'; 'If you have a VA-guaranteed loan and it's 61 days past due, we'll automatically assign a VA loan technician to review your loan'; 'contact us or your mortgage servicer to get help avoiding scams or third-party companies trying to take advantage of you'; 'Work only with trusted organizations' · Checked October 17, 2026