A Utah company charged homeowners hundreds of dollars each for “risk free” mortgage audits, then either delayed their promised refunds for months or never paid them at all, customers told Better Business Bureau.

Consumers  several states also said AMT Auditing Services of American Fork, Utah, added unauthorized charges to their charge cards and/or forced them to deal with long, frustrating delays when the homeowners tried to contact customer service representatives to resolve their issues.

AMT Auditing Services has an “F” grade with the BBB, the lowest grade possible, with complaints and reports from 25 states. BBB in Salt Lake City identifies Colton Moody as manager of the company.  CRM Ventures LP, Enlightened, LLC, and Mortgage Auditing Program are alternative business names.

Kim States, BBB President, said that consumers should be cautious when solicited by AMT or other businesses seeking advance fees for mortgage audits.

States said the number and pattern of complaints involving AMT indicates “a significant and ongoing problem with the way this company handles its business.  There remain continuing concerns over the value of mortgage audits.  And there certainly is no acceptable excuse for a business that seems to chronically ignore its own customers.”

Homeowners say they received mailings from AMT similar to one sent to a Wisconsin consumer in March. That mailing said: “This notice is to inform you that you may be owed a refund of several thousand dollars from your mortgage lender. Your monthly mortgage payment may have been miscalculated and you may be due a refund from either your current or previous mortgage lender.”  The letter says that the average refund is $1,497 and one-third of the refunds are $3,000 to $7,500.” In fine print at the bottom, the letter says it is not  a mortgage modification offer, a forensic mortgage audit offer nor an offer to prevent foreclosure.

In 2010, the Federal Trade Commission warned consumers: “So-called forensic loan auditors, mortgage loan auditors, or foreclosure prevention auditors backed by forensic attorneys offer to review your mortgage loan documents to determine whether your lender complied with state and federal mortgage lending laws. The ‘auditors’ say you can use the audit report to avoid foreclosure, accelerate the loan modification process, reduce your loan principal, or even cancel your loan.  Nothing could be further from the truth.”

On its website, www.amtdivision.org, AMT offers a mortgage audit at a sale price of $299. The site says AMT will determine whether a consumer has been overcharged and then notify the homeowner so he or she can obtain refunds from the lender.

Some customers who filed complaints with the BBB said that AMT took months to complete audits that it promised to complete in a few weeks. They also said the company delayed or reneged on promises of full refunds if the audit uncovered no overcharges.

The company did not respond to a request for information from the BBB.

Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona and the FTC discourage consumers from making advance payments for outside mortgage audits. Check BBB Business Reviews of companies at www.tucson.bbb.org or by calling 314-645-3300. The FTC also suggests getting free advice from housing counseling agencies certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by calling 1-888-995-HOPE.

While there is no foolproof way to protect ourselves against all emerging technology-based scams, Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona says consumers can arm themselves by understanding the two major objectives of online criminals: cheating people out of money and tricking them into divulging personal information to commit identity theft.

The evolving methods used by cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated.  However, consumers’ two most powerful tools are research and skepticism.

The most common Internet scams to cheat consumers involve obtaining credit card information and getting them to send money by wire transfer.  This type of fraud occurs in general merchandising by phony or lookalike websites, predatory offers such as credit-repair services, friendship swindles, fake check scams using online auctions and classified ads and requests for upfront payment to receive supposed lottery prizes and work-at-home kits.

The second category of cybercrime involves coaxing consumers to reveal personal information, including their Social Security number, date of birth, address and telephone numbers. This is done by sending out authentic-looking emails supposedly from government agencies, retailers, financial institutions and other businesses.   These emails typically contain hyperlinks that lead to online forms requesting personal information or download malicious software that can steal login information or passwords.

BBB offers the following recipe to stay ahead of cybercriminals:

Research before revealing – Research unfamiliar retailer and charity websites at www.tucson.bbb.org before entering a credit card number.

Be wary of unsolicited emails – Government agencies, credit card companies and banks will never ask for personal information such as a Social Security or Medicare number through email.   In addition, when you receive a link to a “special deal” or coupon through a social network site, type in the Internet address yourself.  A link’s true destination may be hidden, take you to a lookalike website or download malware onto your computer.

Use secure payment methods – Never send money by wire transfer to someone you don’t know.  Use a credit card, online payment system or escrow service to pay for auction or classified ad items.

Beware of overpayment checks – Cybercriminals use scams that involve sending a legitimate-looking check and asking that the monetary difference be returned by wire transfer.  Though the check may initially be accepted for deposit at a bank, it may take several days to bounce, resulting in the loss of the wired money and penalties.

Be selfish with personal information – Social media sites encourage sharing; however, avoid sharing your birth date, address and other information that may be used to help put together a profile that can be used to steal your identity.  Check the privacy settings for your profile and considering hiding your profile unless you approve a friendship/contact request.

Practice safe computing – Don’t use short passwords, or the same password for multiple sites.  Passwords should contain a variety of upper and lower case letters and digits or characters.  Ensure your computer anti-virus software and operating system are up to date with the latest security updates and run malware scans on a weekly basis.

There is no telling what new online threats lurk around the corner, however, common sense and an abundance of caution go a long way towards protecting yourself from online crime.

Southern Arizonans horrified at the recent abduction of 6-year old Isabel Celis are responding with generous gifts of time and money. But even when the tragedy is close to home, givers should take steps to assure that donations go to legitimate charities, cautions BBB Wise Giving of Southern Arizona.

As the search for Celis continues, donors should watch out for scam charities that inevitably follow on the hills of tragedy with the sole aim of taking advantage of community good will.

“It’s common for scam artists to use tragedies to separate concerned donors’ from their money,” says BBB President Kim States “Even worse is that it can divert much needed resources away from the cause.”

Those who wish to aid the search for Celis with a donation can do so through the Tucson Medical Center Foundation by visiting www.tmcaz.com/TMCFoundation, or by going to any Wells Fargo branch and depositing a donation into the “Bring Isa Home” account.

Before making a donation to any charity, BBB recommends that donors’ follow these tips to ensure their donation is used effectively:

Take time to check out the charity. The best way to avoid being disappointed in helping is to find out more about the charity before making the donation.  Unfortunately, most people don’t. Donors should review the charity’s website and go to third party sites such as the BBB Wise Giving Alliance (www.tucson.bbb.org/charity) to learn more about the charity and verify its accountability.

Find out if the charity is providing direct aid or raising money for other groups. Some charities may be raising money to pass along to other organizations.  If so, you may want to consider “avoiding the middleman” and give directly to charities that have a presence in Southern Arizona.

Verify if the charity is registered to solicit donations in Arizona.  Most states require charities to register with a state agency (in order to solicit charitable contributions. Contact the Arizona Department of State to determine if the soliciting charity is properly registered.

To find a charity you can trust visit www.tucson.bbb.org/charity or call (520)888-5353.