fraud: SCAM - Has your Direct Deposit been disabled? - 11/23/11 11:07 AM
I've been ignoring this SPAM message for the past couple weeks again since it first made the rounds this spring.
Until now.
The past couple days I've had calls from several friends asking if this is a scam - and friends, I hate to say it but IT IS!
If you get something in your email that looks like this...

or this...

Don't click on anything but your delete button - otherwise you could end up with some seriously nasty times for you and your computer. Don't take my word for it - you can check the … (0 comments)

fraud: Another Scam Artist Bites the Dust in Riverside County - 10/27/11 01:50 PM
Title Compliance Office – SCAM ALERT! Recently I’ve had several members phone me or send me a copy of a report allegedly from the Title Compliance Office in Riverside County. Printed in English on one side and Spanish on the other, they warn homeowners that they need to have a deed to their home so they can prove they own it. In official souding language they offer to get you an 'official' or 'certified' copyof your deed for the paltry sum of $167.
This is a blatant scam trying to separate you from $167. Everybody gets a copy of your Grant … (2 comments)

fraud: Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. - 08/12/11 08:38 AM
The California Democratic Party is at it again - and they're counting on you being too stupid to notice.
Dan Walters, Political Columnists for the Sacramento Bee, recently wrote about the slew of Democratic legislation aimed at eviscerating the initiative process in our state. You know, the initiative process - whereby ordinary citizens have the opportunity to get measures on the ballot that legislators don't like? Yeah, that process. Democrats complain that 'the initiative process is being abused' and they want to protect us from ourselves. 
Now granted there are too many initiatives on our ballot sometimes - there were 10 on … (9 comments)

fraud: Free Homeownership Seminar for Distressed Homeowners - 05/20/11 06:37 AM
Free From Riverside County - if you're a distressed home owner you should make time to attend this valuable seminar called 'Can I, or Should I keep my home'.Attendance will dramatically improve your uunderstanding of the loan modification, shorty-sale and foreclosure process and what your best option might be at this time. Taught by non-profit HUD approved instructors, you will also find out how to avoid fraud, who to contact at your lender, what government programs are available to assist you and what your IRS issues ay be.
Held locally at the Southwest Riverside County Association of Realtors office on Jefferson … (0 comments)

fraud: Murrieta Men Agree to Prison in Fraud Case - 01/26/11 03:11 AM
Murrieta men agree to prison in fraud case
The headline was exciting yesterday when news of our long-time resident scam artists started to trickle out. The authors of a $142 million dollar ponzi scheme & investment fraud have been in jail awaiting this moment for the past 1 1/2 years and now start to look forward to doing the rest of their time.
Long-time readers will be familiar with the Stonewood case, wherein these perpetrators enticed hundreds of people to invest in real estate. But not just invest - they were talked into buying homes for $100,000 or more … (3 comments)

fraud: Folks, If it sounds too good to be true... A Raspberry for you. - 10/25/10 06:32 AM
The Californian today bestowed a raspberry entitled:
The "Uncommon Law' award.
A raspberry to attorney Michael T. Pines, who has been advising his clients to break into their foreclosed homes.
Pines claims the actions are justified because lenders committed loan fraud and violated the Truth in Lending Act of 1968. A bankruptcy judge called his ideas frivolous and ordered him to pay $16,430 in legal fees to the defendants in one case for wasting their time. Other local real estate lawyers are skeptical about his interpretation of the law.
While not every homeowner facing foreclosure is a victim, many are. They … (4 comments)

fraud: Title Compliance Office - Homeowner FRAUD Alert - 09/09/10 11:01 AM
I posted an article about the Title Compliance Office Scam back in April. It currently sits at #2 on Google thanks to ActiveRain. But what's even better news is the responses I continue to get from people who have read it and avoided getting scammed. Not only did they save $167 but they avoided sending a copy of their signature in to scamsters who would proceed to do who knows what with it.
So to make it even easier, I've put a warning notice up on YouTube describing the problem. It's not just Riverside County, where I live, but people have … (2 comments)

fraud: New Scam aimed directly at Realtors. Don't get bit. - 07/07/10 12:04 PM
This is a variation of the Craigslist scam and the Nigerian bank fraud. I sincerely hope no real estate professional has fallen for this grift ut since NAR is publicizing it - it's probably bit a few folks.
NAR Legal Affairs has learned of a new scheme designed to trick unwary real estate professionals
NAR Legal Affairs has learned of a new scheme designed to trick unwary real estate professionals into forwarding money to the scheme operators. The scheme works in the following manner: 
Salesperson receives an inquiry via email from an individual who identifies himself (no known female aliases … (13 comments)

fraud: CA DRE Hopes To Put The Bite on Exploding Short Sale Frad - 06/17/10 12:49 PM
Thank heaven somebody is finally stepping up. We have been deluged with short sale scams in our market since short sales replaced REO's as our primary housing alternative almost a year ago. Many Realtors are also hiring these so-called expert negotiators because they are either too lazy or too incompetent to do it themselves. These can be time consuming transactions but if you promise your customer you are going to do it - then do it. Now your license can be on the line if you hire an unlicensed person to do the job you are being paid to do.
… (3 comments)

fraud: More Real Estate Fraudsters Cracked Thanks to Ventura County led Task Force. - 06/17/10 06:53 AM
I'm lovin' this. Our friends up at the Ventura County Association  of Realtors had a hand in this. They've been very pro-active for years in fighting real estate fraud in their community and have worked hand-in-glove with their local District Attorney. Maybe now that Riverside County has a new District Attorney we can get some of this same attention to fraud that Ventura has enjoyed. They've even helped their DA receive substantial federal grants to combat this scourge. Kay Runion and the REFAT team in Ventura are 'Da Bomb'.
REGIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT JOINS TOGETHER IN CRACKDOWN ON
MORTGAGE FRAUD, … (0 comments)

fraud: Temecula Man accused of $20 Million Mortgage Fraud Scam. Right in our backyard again! - 05/22/10 07:06 AM
TEMECULA: Man accused of $20 million fraud A Temecula man is among six people facing charges for what federal prosecutors said Thursday involves more than $20 million worth of mortgage fraud.
Michael Wayne Wickware, 54, faces one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud, the San Diego U.S. attorney's office said.
According to online records, Wickware was in custody Thursday at the federal jail in downtown San Diego.
Also charged in the scheme are San Diego residents Brian Andrew La Porte, 34; Daniel John Schuetz, 37; Darryl Anthony Wallace, aka Darryl Anthony White, 47; and … (3 comments)

fraud: Casino Style Loan Mod Scam Rolls Snake-eyes - 05/20/10 11:39 AM
   News Release  May 20, 2010 For Immediate Release Contact: (510) 622-4500 Four Arrested, Five Wanted for Fleecing Hundreds of Homeowners Seeking Foreclosure Relief **NOTE: Contact information for victims willing to speak with the press is available upon request** LOS ANGELES - Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that nine men engaged in a Southern California boiler room, tricked out in high-roller style with a roulette wheel and other casino equipment, have been charged with 97 criminal counts for stealing at least $2.3 million from more than 1,500 desperate homeowners who were promised loan modifications but received no relief. … (3 comments)

fraud: Another Day - Another Scam. Jury Duty Scam Sweeps Nation. - 05/07/10 09:33 AM
Our Riverside County Joint Fraud Task Force has adopted a new motto - 'Changing Times - Changing Frauds'. When we started five years ago we were primarily focused on mortgage fraud as that was the predominant scam at the time. However, with the changing market the opportunity for that type of mortgage fraud has dwindle but we've seen an explosion in loan mod fraud, short-sale fraud and all kinds of housing schemes aimed at senior citizens including some very insidious reverse-mortgage scams.
Last week I brought to your attention a new one making the rounds. Actually it's been around awhile … (4 comments)

fraud: California - Title Compliance Office - SCAM ALERT! - 04/29/10 03:40 PM
Title Compliance Office – SCAM ALERT! Recently I’ve had several members phone me or send me a copy of a report allegedly from the Title Compliance Office in Riverside County. Printed in English on one side and Spanish on the other, they warn homeowners that they need to have a deed to their home so they can prove they own it. In official souding language they offer to get you an 'official' or 'certified' copyof your deed for the paltry sum of $167.
This is a blatant scam trying to separate you from $167. Everybody gets a copy of your Grant … (28 comments)

fraud: 1st Time Homebuyer Tax Credit - FRAUD. - 04/12/10 11:58 AM
This is the kind of vile crap that ruins it for regular, hard-working, deserving people. Not only that, she is a real estate broker. Nice. No wonder people consider us just a step above used car salesmen but below attorneys as a career choice. I sincerely hope Kashawn Monique gets the max 50 years and has to pony up $2.5 mil on top of that. We need more high profile busts like this on a daily basis and maybe these swine will get the idea. Awwww, that's just wishful thinking. As long as there's Kashawn Monique's in the world, the US … (41 comments)

fraud: Making Home Affordable - Another, Day Another Lie - 03/22/10 08:13 AM
You all remember the great fanfare wherein President B H Obama introduced the fabulous Making Home Affordable Program (Help for the hardest hit - according to the website)? He said - and I quote, "this program will enable as many as 3 to 4 million home owners to modify the terms of their mortgage" preserving the dream of home ownership. Last May in Washington DC, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan trumpeted the program before a packed audience of Realtors® during our Legislative Summit Day - the plan 'does a number of things to make sure that 3 to 4 million families can … (5 comments)

fraud: Another Scam Artist Heads For Club Fed - 02/17/10 07:23 AM
 
LONG BEACH MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN $33 MILLION PONZI THAT LURED INVESTORS WITH PROMISES OF PROFITS IN REAL ESTATE
Ahhhh another great headline. This one about a 33 year old guy by the name of Jon James who scammed as many as 50 people out of their savings and IRA's in his get-rich-quick scheme. 
See if this sounds familiar - James would often meet his marks face-to-face or at presentations hosted at restaurants. He'd promise them returns way better than those available elsewhere by investing in his real estate investment operation. He actually invested in a few properties but made … (0 comments)

fraud: Another One Bites The Dust - USAO Indicts 2 for fraud. - 12/15/09 03:41 AM
And the hits just keep on comin'. Not that they've made a substantial dent yet in the army of fraudsters who contributed to our housing meltdown, but nonetheless it's always gratifying to see another of these swine with their names up in lights. 
These two were really small potatoes glomming only $777,000 (that they're indicted for). In our area, where it took more than 5 years to indict perpetrators charged with over 200 fraudulent transactions and more than $140 million in ill-gotten gains, it is really really sweet to see these people getting cracked for just 2 deals and under $1 … (10 comments)

fraud: Cal AG Brown - Kicking Ass & Taking Names in Loan Mod Fraud. - 08/12/09 08:28 AM
Gotta love this. AG Jerry Brown to 386 'mortgage foreclosure consultants' pay up or face the consequences. Including names of all the companies currently not in compliance. SWEET!
Here's the link to see non-compliant companies in your area.
Taking names and kicking ass - love ya Jerry.

News Release August 12, 2009 For Immediate Release Contact: (916) 324-5500  Brown Orders Mortgage Foreclosure Consultants to Post $100,000 Bond or Face Prosecution Los Angeles - Threatening possible criminal and civil prosecution, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today ordered 386 mortgage foreclosure consultants to post $100,000 bonds and register … (0 comments)

fraud: New Day - New Scam. Beware - be aware. - 08/05/09 09:18 AM
A number of you have reported being approached by investors to perform some level of service in conjunction with this type of transaction. If you are going to try it, make sure you follow the guidelines outlined by Fannie Mae or you and your investor/buyer/ client may be indictable.

… (8 comments)