So you've worked hard all your life, be responsible, do the right thing to advance in life, to build good credit, and provide a future for yourself and your family. Then one day you decide to take a big step to buy a home. You take your good credit to what "appears" to be real estate professionals that you think are going to help you. They promise you they will work hard for you in finding your dream home and get the best financing for you because of your well kept credit.

Instead, they take your good credit and buy other houses by falsifying documents and forging your signature. They use your hard earned money and good credit to make money for themselves, to commit crimes, to commit fraud. Weeks later, you get notices of default on several pieces of property that you know nothing about. By now, these criminals have used your credit to buy the other properties, take the money from the sales, and then they disappear to do their crimes elsewhere. There is nothing you can do. You can't pay for the properties. The foreclosures go through. Your credit is forever ruined. Your future is stolen from you. Your security is gone. You could be homeless without hope for the future and without money to hire an attorney.

So who do these perpetrators prey upon? They prey upon the elderly, the mentally challenged, those who don't speak or read English, anyone in or near foreclosure, first time or unsophisticated home buyers, and victims that trusted their families or friends, or perhaps people like you and I.

Below are some tips to look out for signs of fraud. Before signing any documents, be sure the name on the documents you sign matches your name and what is on own personal identification card. All the personal information on the documents from the mortgage broker should match with your driver's license, state issued identification card, social security card, etc.

Ask for referrals and verify their referrals and references for real estate and mortgage industry professionals. You can also check the licenses of the real estate and mortgage professionals with state, county, or city regulatory agencies. Work with people that are 'in good standing' with the appropriate regulatory bodies.

There are "mortgage sales people" using high-pressure sales techniques and will try to play on your emotions. Be wary of those types, strangers and unsolicited contacts. Never sign because you are under pressure to sign! Again, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!

Make sure you have reliable information regarding recent comparable sales in the area, tax assessments, etc, to verify the value of the property. Investigate the title history of the property to determine if the property has been sold multiple times within a short period. Perhaps the value has been falsely inflated either by the seller or appraiser.

Fully understand the terms of your mortgage. Check your information against the information in the loan documents to ensure they are accurate and complete. Consult an attorney if you have any doubts.

If your mortgage professional only conducts their business on a cell phone or on the road, be cautious. Upstanding real estate industry professionals almost always have an official office and telephone line. You will want to know where they are in case you have questions down the road. It would be valuable to know where their office is so you can drive down to see them. Verify this information before agreeing to conduct business exclusively via a cell phone. Meet the real estate professional at either their office or a bank. You will get to see and verify the agent or broker's professional standing, as well as it would take the pressure off that you may have when they are in your own home.

There is no free lunch so be suspicious of outrageous promises of big profits in a short period of time. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
Always, always, always understand what you are signing and agreeing to. If you do not fully understand, seek assistance from a skilled real estate attorney. Do not sign because you are under pressure to do so or the promotion only last for a limited time. Ask for clarification and re-read the document again and again of you have to. Ask to take it home to have more time for review.

Overall, use your common sense and trust your instinct ... if it sounds too good to be true-it probably is! Never sign a blank document or a document containing blanks. This leaves you very vulnerable to being taken advantage of and end up in a fraud.