PROTECT YOUR NEXT STEP

Before you accept mortgage help: a scam-check checklist.

A practical verification checklist for mortgage-help offers, closing payment instructions and requests for financial information.

Pause the sales pitch, not your search for help

When mortgage payments become difficult, an offer to solve everything can feel reassuring. A polished website or urgent letter is not proof that the person contacting you is legitimate. Before paying, signing or sharing documents, separate the offer from the facts you can verify.

Warning signs worth taking seriously

The CFPB identifies pressure to act immediately, upfront fees, instructions to stop mortgage payments, and demands to redirect payments away from your lender or servicer as warning signs. Requests to transfer your home’s title or sign documents you do not understand also warrant caution. Official-looking logos can be used to imitate a government connection.

If these appear, step back from that offer and contact your servicer through an independently located official channel. A HUD-approved housing counselor can help you understand available options. Do not deliberately miss a payment because a salesperson tells you it will help.

A five-question verification check

  1. Who am I dealing with? Ask for the individual’s full name, business name, role and applicable license information. Compare the details rather than relying on a logo or title.
  2. Can I verify the license myself? California DRE recommends checking the appropriate licensing authority for real estate and mortgage services. Follow the official licensing links in its alert below. A license check is a starting point, not a guarantee of an outcome.
  3. What exactly am I being asked to sign? Read the complete document. DRE warns against signing unread or unclear agreements, including those with blank spaces. Ask an independent qualified professional to review any document affecting your property rights.
  4. What money is requested, and for what? Write down the amount, recipient, service and timing. Do not treat a demand for an immediate payment as proof that help is available. Seek independent advice about unclear charges.
  5. What happens next? Ask for concrete written steps rather than accepting a guaranteed rescue. Keep the explanation so you can compare it with later requests.

Protect information while you check

DRE cautions homeowners to protect personal information against identity theft. Do not send Social Security numbers, account credentials or financial documents to an unsolicited contact. This website does not collect those materials. If a legitimate servicer requests documents, confirm its secure submission process separately.

Before closing: verify payment instructions

Fraud can also appear late in a transaction, when a message seems to come from an agent, lender or escrow company. A familiar name, a copied email conversation or an urgent closing deadline is not enough to authenticate new payment instructions.

For a short sale, first confirm whether any payment is actually required from you, or whether any payment to you is authorized, using the written terms and your verified closing contacts. This checklist does not establish that a seller must contribute money or will receive proceeds or assistance.

Make these checks before acting

  1. Establish a trusted callback number early. Agree with the closing professional on how payment instructions and changes will be verified. Keep a number you obtained independently, not one supplied in a later message requesting money.
  2. Verify the request through that separate channel. Before sending funds, call the known contact to confirm the amount, purpose and destination. Place the call yourself; incoming caller ID can be faked. Do not verify a suspicious message by replying to it or calling the number it contains. If you cannot reach the right person, leave the request unverified rather than treating silence as approval.
  3. Recheck every change. A last-minute change in the receiving account, beneficiary or delivery method needs fresh verification. Contact your closing professional using the trusted number even if the message appears in an existing email thread. A change is a reason to check, not proof by itself that a named person committed fraud.
  4. Protect your own receiving details. If money is due to you, call the known closing professional to establish the secure submission process before opening a portal link. Ask how any later change will be authenticated. DRE recommends a secure, encrypted site or providing the information in person. Do not send bank-account information or other sensitive financial details through personal email or text.
Example: “Use this new account to keep closing on time.”

An email arrives with a familiar signature and replacement wiring instructions. Set the message aside and call the closing professional using the number you already verified. Explain the requested change and ask them to confirm the instructions through the agreed process. Urgency does not replace verification.

Keep a short verification record

In your own secure notes, record the date, the person and organization you reached, where you obtained the callback number, which instruction or change you checked, and whether anything remains unresolved. Keep the actual instructions in the secure location your closing team recommends. Do not copy bank account numbers into this website, an ordinary email thread or a broadly shared log.

If money may already have gone to a scammer

  1. Contact your bank or verified escrow officer immediately. If you sent the money, tell your bank you suspect a fraudulent transfer. If escrow sent it, call your verified escrow officer and ask them to contact the sending bank immediately. Ask the sending bank, directly or through escrow, whether it can stop or recall the payment and contact the receiving institution. Do not wait for an email response from the person who sent the instructions.
  2. Alert the real closing professional. Use the independently verified contact so the team can check what happened and address any other pending payment instructions.
  3. Preserve the evidence and report it. Keep messages, the instructions received and transaction details. Report promptly to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Provide sensitive details only through verified bank or official reporting channels.

Prompt reporting is important, but recovery is not guaranteed. This checklist does not determine who is liable, whether a bank must reimburse a loss or how the transaction's deadlines are affected. Get qualified advice about those questions.

If you suspect you have been targeted

Keep a private record of the offer, communications and any payments. DRE’s alert links to its complaint process for concerns about a real estate salesperson or broker. A complaint is a reporting step, not a promise of repayment or a paused foreclosure.

Do not let checking an offer consume a real deadline. Continue contacting your mortgage servicer and obtain qualified legal help if notices, property-transfer documents or a scheduled sale are involved. This checklist does not determine whether a particular person committed fraud or what legal remedy applies.

For a practical next step, use our servicer-call checklist and private communication log.

First prepared October 30, 2026; expanded and primary sources checked November 8, 2026. General consumer education; individual legal questions require qualified advice.

Sources & further reading

Prepared October 30, 2026; expanded and sources checked November 8, 2026 · General educational information; consult the appropriate professional about your circumstances.

All seller resources

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