The most common foreclosure-prevention scams works like this:

The despaired home owner gets a letter that says something like, "We know you're having a hard time. We have a pipeline to your lender and can help you save your home. Call this toll-free number now."

The poor home owners call the number and agree to pay an outrageous amount of up to $1,500 upfront for help with their mortgage. Then, nothing happens. Finally, the home goes into foreclosure and the home owner has no one to fall back on.

Harold Kirtz, a lawyer for the Federal Trade Commission who is prosecuting these scammers, says victims are often well educated and financially savvy, but they also are "in a very vulnerable state."

Here are some red flags that should make a home owner think twice about calling this, probably bogus, phone number:

• If the company guarantees success. Nobody can guarantee a lender won't foreclose or will modify a loan. Your mortgage company has the final say in what is approved and what is not.
• If the company wants money upfront. "We can't say all advance fees are illegal," Kirtz says, "But in most cases they probably are."
• If the company wants the home owner to send mortgage checks directly to the modification firm. The only certainty there is that the company will cash the checks. You should never send your mortgage payment to anybody except for your mortgage company.