Where there is money to be made, you will find the predators, salivating at a new opportunity to take people’s money and run. Welcome to the homeowner loss mitigation business where the sharks are having a feeding frenzy on already wounded homeowners.

The Better Business Bureau has recently reported that they have received complaints from every state and has issued an alert to warn consumers to be cautious about foreclosure-rescue companies.

Mar Dann, Ohio Attorney General has received hundreds of complaints. “The sad part about this particular offense,” Dann says, “is that (the homeowners) lose everything. You lose the little bit of money they had squirreled away, you lose your house and you lose your hope. How do you quantify that?”

In August, Dann filed complaints against six companies, including American Housing Authority and Foreclosure Assistance Solutions, and he says he expects to bring a half-dozen more cases.

Here is some quotes from a recent USA Today article:

Regulators and law enforcement in many states are targeting the two most common forms of foreclosure rescue scams: “equity skimming” and bogus or fruitless consulting services.

The first scam works like this: A company offers to take legal ownership of the home temporarily. The homeowners pay “rent” to the company, which promises to return legal ownership to them once they regain their financial footing.

But all too often, con artists either borrow as much as they can against the equity in the house — and collect the rent from the original homeowners but never make any mortgage payments. The property still goes into foreclosure, and any equity the homeowner had built up is gone.

The second most common foreclosure-rescue pitch goes like this: A company offers to renegotiate the homeowners’ mortgage with the lender or help refinance the property. In exchange, they charge an up-front fee, typically $800 to $1,200.

Frequently, though, the company never contacts the lender, or knows the borrower can’t qualify for another loan. What little extra cash the homeowner could have used to pay the mortgage or move to an apartment has been wiped out.

Homeowners need to be aware of these scams and what to look out for.

IamFacingForeclosure.com plans to expose the predators and educate homeowners about the legitimate foreclosure prevention services that are available to them.

If you are looking for a consumer advocate attorney, you can visit www.NACA.net .

The National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) is a nationwide organization of more than 1000 attorneys who represent and have represented hundreds of thousands of consumers victimized by fraudulent, abusive and predatory business practices. As an organization fully committed to promoting justice for consumers, NACA’s members and their clients are actively engaged in promoting a fair and open marketplace that forcefully protects the rights of consumers, particularly those of modest means.

You can also search for a Non-Profit Certified HUD Counselor to stop foreclosure here.