Scam alert: Don’t be fooled
Mysterious postcards are showing up in mailboxes all over the country and they’ve started hitting home. This “time-sensitive” matter has many of us scratching our heads and saying, “huh?” Well, guess what? They’re 100%, for sure, mortgage scams.
So, what are they?
Let’s address the elephant in the room and put to rest that these did NOT come from Security State Bank- in fact, they did not originate from any financial institution. Recipients are urged to contact a toll-free number 844-818-1159 regarding time sensitive information on your mortgage.
Where are they coming from?
Whether or not you have indeed recently closed on a Security State mortgage (congratulations if you have!) companies from all over the world have the ability to purchase your information if it has been publicly listed (sometimes even if it hasn’t been!) But your first giveaway should be that the Mortgage ID number provided is bogus.
Often times, scammers will pull what’s called the “phantom help” maneuver, where they’ll encourage you to reduce or even stop your mortgage payments while they work to lessen your costs (for a moderate fee, of course). Unfortunately, by the time you realize you’re being taken advantage of, the phantom helper is long gone.
If you look really closely in the bottom right-hand corner of the examples we’ve provided, you’ll see a “All information provided by H.W.C.” and a “Not affiliated with…” disclosure. Problem is you can grow old searching for information about H.W.C. and come back with nothing solid.
Conduct a quick online search for “Mortgage Protection Services” and you’ll find they have an ‘F’ rating with Better Business Bureau, hundreds of thousands of complaints on Ripoff Report, and even have Cease and Desist orders from several states.
We called the number!
In fact, we tried calling the number provided and was connected to a live person. Eventually we were probed for personal information. Funny enough, these fraudsters refuse to give out any information about themselves, or even the actual company they are working with.
To be clear: Security State Bank will NEVER ask for your social security number, passwords, or other sensitive information via postcard or over the phone.
So, how do I protect myself against these postcards?
It never feels good to be the target of a scam, but unfortunately it happens to us all. Should one of these end up in your mailbox, recycle it. Do not call the number. Do not play their games. Toss it and forget it. Remember, Security State Bank will not send you notifications like this. If you are ever uncertain, contact us right away.
