Article Categories
» Arts & Entertainment
» Automotive
» Business
» Careers & Jobs
» Education & Reference
» Finance
» Food & Drink
» Health & Fitness
» Home & Family
» Internet & Online Businesses
» Miscellaneous
» Self Improvement
» Shopping
» Society & News
» Sports & Recreation
» Technology
» Travel & Leisure
» Writing & Speaking

  Listed Article

  Category: Articles » Finance » Article
 

Home Refinancing Scam - Thieves Use Identity Theft to Steal Your Equity




By Charles Essmeier

Since the demise of the stock market in 2000, the real estate market has been booming. Investors who are justifiably cautious about investing in stocks have been investing in homes. This has driven the prices of homes in the United States to record levels. Long-time homeowners are discovering that they have a tremendous amount of equity in their homes as the values rise, sometimes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The past five years have been good to homeowners and lenders. Unfortunately, the past five years have also been good to equity thieves, who are using identity theft to steal the equity from homes, often without the homeowner’s knowledge.

As the median value of a home in the United States is currently a little more than $200,000, there is plenty of incentive for the equity thief. The scam is relatively simple and usually involves homes that are completely paid off. The thief obtains a copy of the homeowner’s Social Security number and a fake driver’s license in the homeowner’s name. Using this fake identification, the thief forges a quitclaim deed, a document transfers a homeowner’s interest in a property to a third party. The document says, in essence, “I don’t want this property anymore.” The property can then be transferred to anyone the thief chooses. Once the transfer has taken place, the thief applies for a home equity loan, takes the money, and simply walks away. In an alternate scenario, the thief simply sells the house and pockets the money. As most agencies involved in real estate transactions are quite busy these days, property transfers of this type can often be accomplished without drawing undue attention.

This is just one of many scams that have sprung up in recent years involving real estate. While the authorities are certainly interested in catching the thieves, such cases quickly become rather complicated and few police departments have the necessary expertise required to deal with these cases, since they are fairly new. More often than not, the homeowner has little recourse other than to sue the mortgage company involved in the transaction. The best defense against a possible identity theft/equity theft scam is to protect your identity carefully and to avoid giving anyone your Social Security number if you can possibly avoid it. Failing to do so could cost you your home.
 
 
About the Author
©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a Website devoted to debt consolidation information and HomeEquityHelp.net, a site devoted to information on home equity loans.

Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/3466.html
 
If you wish to add the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/3466.html" as shown above and make it hyperlinked.



  Some other articles by Charles Essmeier
Deed Theft Criminals Get More Aggressive at Stealing Your Home
Deed theft is an increasingly popular crime in the real estate industry. It usually works like this: A company will post signs around town offering to "help" those facing debt problems that ...

Will Online Mortgage Lenders Replace Traditional Banks?
The Internet has changed our lives in more ways than we can imagine. The Web provides a convenient, fast, comprehensive source of information that we have very quickly embraced as our "go to" source for ...

Is Mortgage Life Insurance a Good Buy?
Buying a house is one of the most expensive things most people will ever do. With the average home in the ...

Home Equity Just Part of a Good Rainy Day Plan
In the last five years, values of homes throughout the United States have increased dramatically. With that, the American public has resorted to an unprecedented amount of borrowing against their ...

Discount Points May Be Wise When Purchasing a Home
There are many expenses one must pay when closing on a mortgage. Some of these include taxes, a down payment, loan origination fees, and miscellaneous ...

Mortgage Tips for First Time Buyers
A home is the single most expensive thing most people will ever purchase. In addition, paying off a home loan can take as long as forty years and will involve paying an ...

  
  Recent Articles
Tenants With Poor Credit Even Enjoys Loan
by Turk Malloy

The UK Consumer's Guide to Shopping for Car Insurance Online
by Mary Simone

Are You Throwing Your Money Away?
by John Cranley

Easy personal loan to finance your desire!
by frank howard

Bad credit consumers can still find sources of financial assistance
by Martin McAllister

Setting up a Merchant Account
by John Tillman

Individual Voluntary Arrangement: How Does It Work?
by Martin McAllister

Stop Foreclosure - We buy houses
by Ron victor

Tax foreclosures property investment could be a nightmare investment
by mike

Spotting tax foreclosure property in USA
by mike

Making money online is virualy free
by Phill Evans

Online Criminal Background Checks: Importance & Ease
by Asel Retrac

Can't connect to database