Scam Artists Targeting Foreclosure Sale Surplus Money

Buried in a story in The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware) is the following reference to a foreclosure scam involving the scamming of homeowners who recently lost their homes in a foreclosure sale where the home sold for more than what was owed and there was money left over:

• "Another problem comes after a foreclosed home goes to a sheriff's sale. 'When a home is sold in foreclosure and there is money left over, the money belongs to the former homeowner,' said [Delaware Attorney General Beau] Biden. "People are not always aware that this money belongs to them." Superior Court has more than $5 million waiting to be claimed. Now some people are persuading distressed homeowners to sign over their rights to the residual money in exchange for an upfront payment. In some cases, homeowners have signed away as much as $30,000 in exchange for $1,000. Consumers who believe they may be victims of a foreclosure scam can call the Delaware Department of Justice's Consumer Protection Unit at 577-8600, Biden said."

For more, see Officials seek solutions to foreclosure boom (Filings hit record highs in all three Del. counties; authorities warn of spreading scams).

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