Scheme offers HUD grant cash in exchange for upfront fee. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s watchdog is warning people to be on the lookout for a scam that promises HUD grant cash in exchange for an upfront fee.
HUD warns of scammers offering phony housing grants
The fraud bulletin comes courtesy of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General, which says that it’s received numerous complaints from consumers who report that they’ve been contacted by someone claiming to represent HUD who states that the consumer has been awarded a HUD grant.
In each case, the “HUD representative” asks the consumers for an upfront fee in order to process and secure a “HUD grant” for tens of thousands of dollars, however, there is no grant money available.
According to the HUD-OIG, in four separate cases, the scammer used the identical phone number, but used different names each time.
From the HUD-OIG bulletin:
January 5, 2016, a woman in California was a victim of an attempted scam when a person called her, claiming she’d been awarded a $51,400 federal grant. All she was required to do was fax a copy of her identification to receive the funds. The woman asked for the caller’s credentials and the caller provided her with the NY HUD Regional Office’s address. The caller went by Matthew Maxwell and gave his number as 315- 675-4146 x120.
March 22, 2016, a woman in Virginia was a victim of an attempted scam when a person called her, claiming she had been awarded a $48,450 federal grant. All she was required to do was send a $350 wire or certified check to cover fees. The caller went by Richard Johnson and gave his number as 315-675-4146 and reportedly had a foreign accent. The woman didn’t follow through.
May 26, 2016, a law firm representing a woman from Washington, DC, reported a woman ended up being scammed when a person called her, claiming she had been awarded a $48,500 grant. All the victim needed to do was wire $350 to them, using Western Union. Once the victim sent funds she didn’t get her $48,500 in exchange. The caller went by Alice and her number was 315-675-4146.
On May 27, 2016, a man in California was the victim of an attempted scam, when someone claiming that to be from HUD called and instructed them to call back at 315-675-4146
HUD-OIG warns people to not accept or return telephone calls from 315-675-4146, although it cautions that even though the same phone number is now being used currently, it is likely to change over time.
HUD-OIG also warns consumer to not give out any identity information by fax or over the phone to anyone offering you a grant.
“HUD will not email or call to ‘award’ you cash,” the bulletin states.
The bulletin also tells consumers to never wire funds to cover the “fees” for a federal grant.
The bulletin also states that anyone who thinks they may have been a victim of a similar scheme should contact the HUD-OIG here to submit a report.