I received a peculiar piece of junk mail today. At first glance it appeared to be legitimate. It appeared to come from the Loss Mitigation Department at National City Bank. At one point, I had a mortgage with National City Bank, so I was intrigued enough to open it.

When I opened it, it instructed me to contact the loss mitigation department in regards to my existing mortgage. It claimed that they were “willing to negotiate the terms of your existing mortgage to a more reasonable monthly payment and rate of interest.” It then went on to claim that I had thirty days to contact them, otherwise I might “no longer be eligible for a loan modification.” Sounds like an attractive offer, doesn’t it? Problem is that my mortgage with National City was paid off close to three years ago! Pretty hard to modify a mortgage that no longer exists!

Now read the bottom line. “We are not an affiliate or nor endorsed by, nor associated with National City Bank”!! Clearly this is an offer to dupe unsuspecting home owners out of fees to try and negotiate a loan modification on your behalf. Clearly this company has not authority to “negotiate the terms of your existing mortgage.” Home owners need to be aware and protect themselves from schemes like this.