Beware of the Scammer!

As with any crisis or disaster, in addition to the folks who really do try to assist those in dire straits, it never fails that the scum of the earth also show up trying to take whatever advantage they can of those less fortunate than they are. This is just as true in the case of foreclosures as in any other major crisis situation. The scammers just crawl out from under their rock and start taking--from anyone they can trick or deceive.
One of the more common scams making the rounds now is the equity strip routine. Basically, it goes like this. Pleasant sounding scammer approaches someone in default on their mortgage, but still owning the jhouse and having some equity in it. He convinces the homeowner that if the owner will just add the scammer's name to the title, the scammer will make certain the mortgage is paid on time until the homeowner can get back on his or her feet financially. The scammer may even ask the homeowner to pay a 'small' monthly payment to Mr. Scammer as 'rent' or a 'service fee' for the supposed assistance being rendered.
Once the homeowner has placed scammer's name on title, scammer then goes, unbeknownst to homeowner, to a bank and takes out another loan on the property equal to all,or most of the remaining equity in the property. Newly enriched at homeowner's expense, he disappears, never to make a single payment on either the new loan or the old. As no mortgage payments are being made by anyone, the homeowner ultimately does lose his or her home, along with any equity they may have had in the property before our scamming slimeball showed up in the first place.
Moral of the story: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Good advice: Don't agree to ANYTHING or sign ANYTHING with someone who you don't know well or have had an opportunity to thoroughly check out.