Predatory lending is still going on
State and federal authorities may have cracked down on unscrupulous mortgage lenders to avoid a repeat of the housing market meltdown, but there are still plenty of companies that are eager to dupe people into taking out bad loans.
Exhibit A: Companies sending official-looking letters that seem to say you have to take action or else your home loan will be in trouble. The letters, of course, aren't from a government agency. They're from some business trying to get you to refinance.
And now an Irvine company called Network Capital Funding is taking the questionable sales pitch up a notch. It's sending out a letter that claims to be the "second notice" a homeowner is receiving, even though there never was a first notice, and it's doing its best to masquerade as a money-saving federal program.
"Due to recent revisions of the Home Affordable Refinance Program, your Fannie Mae loan has been flagged for internal review," the letter warns. "Prior attempts to notify you have not been successful."
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20121127,0,1687636.column?track=rss
I remember getting junk mail like this several months ago. From some company claiming im in danger of default on my mortgage, and I should contact them "for help because of new government programs." It reminded me of those crummy junk mail you get from car dealerships telling you they'll give you unbelievable amounts for your trade in but it's really just all a marketing gimmick.
What I think these banks do is send these letters out to a bunch of people. Most people probably recognize it as a scam. But those people are not the target. They hope they get this letter to someone who really is struggling. And those are the people that are vulnerable to this kind of thing. They call the number and they try to trap them into a bad loan.