I received an advertisement today on re-fi my mortgage with a company I have never heard of.  In the letter, they stated how much my aprox mortgage bal was and whay sort of payment they would give me.  I know this is not public records.  I have worked in banking for 6 years, so I know all about identity theft and I keep my families info very secure.
122867
When you bought your house, the title company filed your title and mortgage at the courthouse.  The mortgage has to be filed at the courthouse to protect the bank's first lien against your home to prevent anyone else from filing a higher priority lien against it.  After that first lien is filed, anyone else filing a subsequent lien against your house (for instance if you have some home improvement done and you don't pay the bill) would get a second or third lien, not as good as the first.  The first lien has priority if you're taken to court over unpaid bills and there is limited money to pay them or you go bankrupt and there are a number of creditors who want to be paid.\n\nCourthouse = public record.\n\nSince most courthouses these days are computerized, it's entirely possible that the government sold this information to this company that sent you the offer.  They make money this way besides taxes.  \n\nMy wife gets offers often where I can tell the name was taken from my wife's driver's license records because the name there is slightly different from the one she uses everywhere else due to a mistake when we filled out the application form for the license.  After a while, that error migrated to her social security records.  Gee, I wonder how that happened.\n\nWhen I was working for a new car company, they obtained mailing lists from the driver's license records from time to time to send offers to people who owned certain cars they either wanted in trade or they thought would be ripe to trade up based on the age and make of their car.\n\nNot a lot of privacy left in this computerized country unless you really become knowledgable and make a special effort to thwart the system.
606325
These types of Scams are definitely on the increase.   I get between 4 to 6 of these "Phishing" letters a day , telling me that I have won a lottery that I have not entered or I am a long the lost relative of a deceased Millionaire or because I am such a trustworthy person I am being offered to "represent" a company.   All I have to do is give them my bank account numbers and passwords and they will deposit money in my account.  WOW!\nThe bottom line is; if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  \nIf a so called bank asks you to "confirm" your account numbers, passwords, SSI or SIN "for security reasons", its a scam.   Your bank would never email you, they would phone you directly if there is a problem with your account.  I recently had a phishing email from someone who claimed to be from my bank.  The email was pretty convincing but I recognized it as a Phishing attempt and reported it to my ISP provider. \nNEVER GIVE OUT YOUR BANK ACCOUNT NUMBERS, PASSWORDS OR SSI/SIN TO ANYONE, ESPECIALLY WHILE ON THE NET.
292334
It sounds like you have received an email saying that you are inheriting a huge amount of money. If so, it is almost certainly a scam designed to obtain your personal information and steal your identity.\n\nThere are loads of these scams floating around. I get loads of them myself. Ignore them. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true, and it may be dangerous.
646899
if your PMI exceeds 400 a month- something is wrong--check with a mortgage Broker- who represents different lenders- and get an opinion of you mtg deal- sounds like you got a less than wonder full mtg deal--perhaps because of poor credit ratings-- or maybe the home was bought for no down payment-some of these seem attractive-yet can be very costly because of high interest rates or added extras like PMI- go to a broker or bank ASAP- don't wait to find out what can be changed- do it ASAP- and hopefully- someone can find you a better deal, right now !!! i am a retired CPA & CFP and a former bank auditor--if i can be of further help to you- holler back at me- good luck to you !!
238577
I think you have a legitimate complaint. How did they get you banking information to begin with?  I think if you authorize them to take money out of your account they should have your voice recorded giving them permission to take out the $600.00, on whatever date it is they took it out on. Get your information from the bank and call them back and turn the tables on them and ask them who gave them authorization to take the money out on this date, and that you want proof of it. You will be coming in for the proof and taking it to your attorney to review. If you are able to pick it up don't tell them you are going to your attorney until they hand over the proof. Also, ask them to highlight where you gave them permission to take this  extra $600.00. If you ask for the proof and they can't come up with it they will have to put it back in your account immediately. Make sure you tell them so. If they won't put the money back into your account and they give you a paper that is showing proof that you didn't authorize you will have to get an attorney. I hope not but they can't get away with doing things like this. Also, threaten to call the local newspaper and tell them what they did. See how they like that. You could also call the police and ask them if you have any recourse with this company. Usually going on the news scares the daylights out of them because it hurts their business.
113313
It is not public record as the deal may still fall through and the seller would then be at a disadvantage for the next round of buyers. Sometimes your buyers-agent talking to the sellers-agent of the house of interest can gain more info than they should be able to since they might consider it a foregone conclusion. This is not something that sellers-agent should do though.\n\nAlso, this is kind of unethical if you are planning to use it for that house should it come back on the market. But if you are using it as a comp for some reason then you shouldn't feel as though you are doing anything wrong, just looking for advance knowledge that will be know eventually anyhow.
434582
I would definately check into that.  Thats extortion in my book.  Also, see if u can get her a calling card or the number to one, for those calls out I guess.
194696
No, they are not scams in any way.  I have instituted hundreds of these for my first time home buyers and you don't have to pay them back.  \n\nIf you would like more detailed information on them, please contact me at timothy.kazee@americanhm .com and we can talk.  These are great options for someone in your shoes.\n\nTalk to you soon!!!!
281266
Sounds to me that they may be ripping u off. I would check into it again.
31755
If it crosses the line of being compensated, or asking for business, it crosses the line of spamming.\n\nIf this is not policed, soon it will become an online Advertizing campaign, instead of a question and answer board.\n\nI do Real Estate and Loans.  I answer questions sometimes in those sections.  But I don't ask for business.  Many times I don't even say it's my profession.  \n\nWe all want to make money in life. But this forum is not the place to ask.  At least not advertently.
648961
Your parents sound like some classy folks.\n\nI have not experienced that kind of fraud...yet.\n\nThat sucks.  If I were you I would have taken a bunch of your parents stuff and pawned it for the $400.\n\nDon't mess with me folks!
322216
I got a postcard in the mail, and was propositioned for the same fee to complete the applications.  I told the operator I would think about it and call back - then I hung up the phone and did a search to see what this company was about.  They have no web page, but there are a bunch of comments from people who have gotten ripped off from this company.  I called the company right back and told them to remove my name form their database and to not contact me ever again.  Fortunately I had not given them my bank account information.\n\nYou can do the search by typing the company's name into the URL address bar and pressing enter on your keyboard.  Read the comments and decide for yourself.\n\nI did find a page on the BBB http://www.newyork.bbb.org/reports/businessreports.aspx?pid=44&page=1&id=86754\nThat shows this company is not a member wiht the BBB - you can check it out too.\n\nAll in all - my research indicates that this is not a company wirht doing business with.  If you are interested in grants, then check out the response on this post for more info:http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=1006041408147&r=w&is_vote_given=true&pa=BpVqD13uBHMzU.qS4xwATQPSi0OMTaepvTNWYr0wfkQkjizvFoI-
605920
NO! do not give any personal information to anyone but your bank. if in question I would ask for names, phone numbers address, managers names, website address and if no reply or they try to sweet talk you out of the information hang up and contact your bank let them figure it out.
467425
Yeah I think its a scam. Ive recieved those pre approved letters from Washington mutual too. I think they sell the info to telemarketers
139200
I used to be a mortgage processor for citibank, we answered customer and broker calls, we checked the status of the loans, and did the paperwork. It would be a little different if you are working for the broker, for instance you would have more contact (face to face) with the customer.
69944
zillo maybe bet your mortgage company needs to give you that info. CAll them
223728
Definitely call the credit bureaus & get rolling on this immediately!  I think they are Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.  Get a copy of your credit report from each to see if any credit has been opened in your name recently that you did not apply for.  Call all your credit card companies as well & make sure there has been no activity on your account that you don't know about.\n\nThere are books at the library which give lots of tips on identity theft, so I'd highly recommend checking into those.  \n\nI believe you are supposed to file ID theft claims with the Federal Trade Commission, so try checking out their website or calling them. \n\nIf you're feeling really adventurous, go to the Walmart that called (if you know which one) & see if they have contact info for the person who filled out the application!  Then report this information to the FTC investigators.\n\nHere is a brochure on ID theft published by the Postal Inspection Service:  http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub280.pdf