As foreclosure rates rise, evidence from other parts of the country indicates the number of rescue scams may be increasing. The BBB for Clearwater, Florida, received 508 complaints about local foreclosure rescue companies in the past three years with 322 coming just within the last 12 months. Charlotte, North Carolina’s BBB office reported last year that two foreclosure rescue companies were operating; today the count is 15 and six have already had legal actions taken against them. Twenty-one new companies began operations this year in Cleveland. The most common form of foreclosure rescue scam involves a scammer taking an up-front fee, usually $1,000 or more, to solve the victim’s foreclosure problems, and then does little or nothing, pocketing the money. The Pre-Foreclosure Real Estate Handbook: Insider Secrets to Locating and Purchasing Pre-Foreclosed Properties in Any Market

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