The number of foreclosures have risen nationwide 42 percent to 1.26 million in 2006, reported by RealtyTrac, a California based company that tracks foreclosures. This rise creates for more space for foreclosure fraud.

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Elizabeth Renuart, a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center who co-wrote the report on foreclosure fraud, said such schemes are popular in areas of the country where home values have soared, but any homeowner who has been paying down a mortgage for many years will have significant equity and can become a target.

A second scheme described in the report involves consultants charging high fees to help homeowners out of trouble but never delivering the promised services. A third involves an agreement in which a homeowner knowingly signs over the home and agrees to buy it back over time, but the terms of the agreement make it nearly impossible for the homeowner to succeed.

You can read the full article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16875601/

Michelle