Is a Paid "Forensic Mortgage Audit" a Scam? A New York Homeowner's Checklist

If you are behind on your mortgage in New York, you have probably been contacted by a company offering a paid "forensic mortgage audit" or "securitization audit" that claims it can find a hidden violation and stop your foreclosure. Some of these offers are legitimate document-review services. Many are not. This is a short, practical checklist for evaluating the specific offer in front of you — not a review of your own documents (see our separate self-help mortgage audit guide for that).

The single biggest red flag: paying before you have a written offer

The federal Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule — originally the FTC's Rule, now the CFPB's Regulation O, 12 CFR Part 1015 — makes it illegal to collect a fee for mortgage-relief services before you have received and accepted a written offer from your lender or servicer. A company demanding payment upfront to "audit" your loan and "stop" your foreclosure is very likely on the wrong side of that rule.

Checklist: is this specific offer legitimate?

• Are they asking for money before any written offer from your lender exists? If yes, that is very likely illegal under the MARS Rule.
• Do they guarantee an outcome — that your loan will be voided, your case dismissed, or your home saved? No honest reviewer can guarantee a court result.
• Do they use urgency and fear — "act today or lose everything"? Real professionals do not need to pressure you into a same-day decision.
• Do they tell you to stop paying your mortgage or stop talking to your servicer? That advice usually damages your position and is a hallmark of foreclosure-rescue scams.
• Can you verify who they are — a real business address, a named individual, and (if they claim to be attorneys) an active New York bar license you can look up?
• Will they show you, in writing, exactly what you get — a specific report, a specific defense, a specific next step — rather than vague promises of "leverage" or "secret violations"?

What a legitimate document review looks like

The useful version of a "mortgage audit" costs nothing but your own time: reviewing your note, your mortgage, the assignment chain, and your RPAPL 1304 notice for real, recognized issues — standing, notice defects, and statute-of-limitations problems that New York courts actually weigh. Our self-help mortgage audit guide walks through exactly what to pull and what to look for. A licensed New York attorney can also do this review for you, typically as part of representation rather than a standalone "audit" product.

Where to report a suspected scam in New York

If you believe you have been targeted by a foreclosure-rescue or loan-audit scam, you can report it to:

• The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS), which regulates mortgage-related businesses in New York and accepts consumer complaints.
• The New York Attorney General's Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau (helpline 1-800-771-7755).
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), at consumerfinance.gov/complaint.
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

What actually helps, at no cost

Free options exist and are often more useful than a paid audit: a HUD-approved housing counselor (888-995-HOPE) can review your situation for free; New York's Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP) connects income-eligible homeowners with free legal help; and answering your Summons and Complaint on time — raising real defenses like a defective RPAPL 1304 notice or a standing problem — does more for your case than any paid report. See our full breakdown of why paid audits rarely work in court for more detail.