Housing and Lending

As Congress considers legislation to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna is leading a group of 40 state attorneys general in urging federal lawmakers to uphold the role of the states in enforcing consumer protection laws ...

In a sign of the economic times, credit cards and predatory lending/mortgages cracked the national top 10 list of consumer complaints to state attorneys general offices last year, the National Association of Attorney General announced today.

If you can’t keep up with your mortgage payments and are concerned about foreclosure, you can obtain free help. The Urban League has teamed up with the state Department of Financial Institutions and other organizations to provide three workshops this month in the Puget Sound.

Homeowners facing foreclosure can receive free legal help thanks to a new program launched by the Washington State Bar Association. ...

For Eva Buck, a single mother of twin girls, it was a stranger’s offer to help her save her family’s home from foreclosure. For small business owner Reuben Quam, it was a promise of big returns on his investment. For grandparents Howard and Barbara Rice, it was a call from a supposed relative in trouble. In every case, it was a scam. More from our Taking Charge in Tough Times seminars ...

A judge ordered a notorious foreclosure rescue scammer to pay more than $3.2 million to victims he wronged plus $179,000 in penalties for violating the Consumer Protection Act ...

This e-mailed advertisement for a “Foreclosure Relief Kit” clogged up a co-worker’s inbox. It looks like an attractively packaged rip-off, if you ask us.

The Obama administration today announced a new coordinated effort across federal and state agencies and the private sector to target mortgage loan modification fraud and foreclosure rescue scams ...

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What do scams actually look and sound like? NPR recently aired a series of stories on foreclosure scams, phishing and credit repair ploys. ...