The Federal Trade Commission has a new video designed to help facilitators who assist consumers in repairing their identity.  Helping Victims of Identity Theft is the latest addition to the FTC’s library of resources that explain not only how to recognize identity theft, but also how to report it and repair the damage it can cause.  The FTC gets more complaints about identity theft each year than any other consumer issue, and estimates that nine million consumers become identity theft victims each year.

The video promotes the Guide for Assisting Identity Theft Victims, a tool for advocates, social workers, attorneys, and others who work to help resolve the issues identity theft causes.  The Guide is a complement to the do-it-yourself instructions in Taking Charge:  What To Do if Your Identity is Stolen.

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Los Angeles Times – The lender has accounted for 30 percent of complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, with two-thirds of them involving modifications.

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The Federal Trade Commission is warning small businesses about an email that pretends to be from the FTC with “Notification of Consumer Complaint” in the subject line. However, these emails are not from the FTC.

The fake email, which contains a link to consumer complaints, a link to contact the FTC, and an FTC telephone number, falsely states that a complaint has been filed against the small business.

The FTC advises recipients not to open the email. If the email has been opened, do not click on any links or attachments because they may install a virus or other spyware on the computer. Finally, the FTC says to delete the email.

The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on affiliate marketers that allegedly bombarded consumers with hundreds of millions of unwanted spam text messages in an effort to steer them towards deceptive websites falsely promising “free” gift cards.

According to the FTC complaints, the defendants sent text messages to random phone numbers, including to consumers who do not have a text message subscription plan.

When consumers followed the links included in the unwanted messages, they were directed to sites that collected a substantial amount of personal information, including in some instances health information, before being allowed to continue toward receiving the supposed gift cards.

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The Federal Trade Commission mailed 17,213 refund checks to consumers who were deceived by an operation that charged an up-front fee for fraudulent mortgage relief services and posed as a government mortgage assistance program.  Under a settlement entered by the court in 2011 as part of the FTC’s continuing crackdown on scams that target homeowners who are behind in their mortgage payments or facing foreclosure, the Residential Relief Foundation defendants were banned from selling debt relief services.

More than $1 million is being returned to consumers, each of whom will receive $62.50.  Consumers who receive the checks from the FTC’s refund administrator should cash them within 60 days of the mailing date.  The FTC never requires consumers to pay money or provide information before refund checks can be cashed.  Those with questions should call the refund administrator, BMC Group, at 1-8662246718, or visit www.FTC.gov/refunds for more general information.

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New York Times – Mortgage lenders are not allowed to deny or delay a loan to a woman simply because she is on maternity leave, yet the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development says it receives complaints that this is happening.

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San Diego Union Tribune – Affluent borrowers are signing up for the same type of mortgage that pushed many homeowners into foreclosure just a few years ago – interest-only mortgages.

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The California Dept. of Real Estate issued an important warning concerning the latest fraud scheme being perpetrated against timeshare owners.

The DRE Enforcement Unit has discovered what appears to be a new and growing scheme that targets and preys upon the owners of vacation timeshares in Mexico.

Some of the properties identified are the Mayan Palace, Moon Palace, Groupo Palace, and the Grand Miramar.  Other Mexican vacation resort properties have been mentioned as well.

The scammers usually contact and solicit the owners of the timeshares by telephone or email (from the reports received, the parties never meet in person), and tell the owners that they (the callers or writers) either have buyers or renters for the properties, or that they (the scammers) will market the properties for sale.

The fraudsters use the names of companies (some of which have professional-looking but usually phony websites, fancy sounding titles and addresses, and purport to be escrow, timeshare resale, finance, and/or title service businesses) and individuals in California, and many purport to work with Mexican government officials. However, most of the companies and individuals identified are believed to be a part of the fraud. From the investigations completed so far, it seems that while most of the entities and people are the creations and/or partners of, or the vehicles for the schemers, some of them may appear to be “legitimate,” and some of the companies have used California addresses belonging to a U.S. government agency.

With regard to the issue of “legitimacy,” it appears that a number of the scammers are or have engaged in identify theft, and are identifying and representing themselves as actual California real estate licensees. In those cases, the criminals will use an actual real estate broker’s name and license number in an attempt to legitimize the transaction. If and when the timeshare owner victim calls the broker’s number, which has been provided via email, phone call, postal mail, or on the website that has been created to complete the fraud, the voice of the supposed broker is actually the voice of the scammer.

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C.A.R. recently launched the C.A.R. Finance Helpline, a new member benefit to help California REALTORS® who encounter difficulties with finalizing short sales, REOs, Deeds in Lieu, funding, and other hurdles in closing a deal for clients. REALTORS® can contact C.A.R’s Finance Helpline to receive one-on-one assistance and help with resolving financing issues within a transaction.

The members-only helpline will assist REALTORS® in navigating the various nuances or procedural differences of short sales, or provide assistance and education on finalizing transactions.  C.A.R. members can visit http://finance.car.org to complete pertinent information and will then receive a call back from a lender liaison.  Members can also call the Finance Helpline at (213) 739-8383 or email financehelpline@car.org.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a bulletin this week advising mortgage companies about their legal obligations that protect consumers during loan transfers between mortgage servicers. When handing over the processing of loans, mortgage servicers should not lose paperwork, lose track of a homeowner’s loss mitigation plans, or hinder a consumer’s chances of saving their home from unnecessary foreclosure. The CFPB has a heightened concern about these practices given the large number and size of recent servicing transfers.

Mortgage servicers, among other things, collect and process loan payments on behalf of the owner of the mortgage loan. Mortgage servicing transfers are common and occur when a mortgage owner sells the right to service its loans or when the owner outsources the servicing duties. These transfers can be logistically challenging. A transaction could involve the moving of hundreds of thousands of loan documents.

Given that millions of borrowers have been impacted by servicing transfers, and given the prevalence of homeowners struggling to remain current on their mortgages, the CFPB will make servicing transfer-related problems a focus of its supervisory activities. If servicers are not fulfilling their obligations under the law, the CFPB will take appropriate actions to address these violations and seek all appropriate corrective measures, including remediation of harm to consumers.