Among the worst scams to hit U.S. consumers in 2011 was one that targets distressed mortgage borrowers.
Homeowners who are behind on their mortgages are being courted by operators of mortgage schemes that promise to help avoid foreclosure.
Websites that appear to be tied to government agencies or the Better Business Bureau fool the delinquent borrowers into paying up-front fees for services they can perform on their own for free, a report from the BBB indicated.
The report said that many consumers are worse off after paying for the services.
“In challenging economic times, many people are looking for help getting out of debt or hanging on to their home, and almost as many scammers appear to take advantage of desperate situations,” the BBB stated. “Because the federal government announced or expanded several mortgage relief programs this year, all kinds of sound-alike websites have popped up to try to fool consumers into parting with their money.”
Thousands of scams are investigated by the BBB each year, according to the report.
An e-mail message purporting to be from the BBB made it as “Scam of the Year.”
The BBB said the number of e-mails fraudulently sent on its behalf could be in the millions. The messages include deceptive subject lines and coax recipients into opening a malicious attachment or clicking on a malicious link.
The BBB virus steals bank information, passwords and other confidential data from the infected computer.
