Yesterday, I received a Notice of FNMA Enhancement in the mail. The FNMA Enhancement Notice letter appears completely legitimate, but I have learned over the years to be skeptical of anything that arrives in the mail, so I decided to do some digging. I quickly discovered that this FNMA enhancement letter was a scam.
A Look at the FNMA Enhancements Mortgage Letter
This is the actual letter I received. I located others online who received the exact same letter, but with a different financial institution listed at the bottom.
The notice begins by addressing you by name. Your full address is listed in the top left-hand corner of the page. The letter reads:
Your Economic Benefits
Your current loan has been identified as being likely to benefit from the aggresive enhancements made to Fannie Mae eligibility. These changes will generate economic benefits for those, like you, who have a conventional mortgage.
Some benefits could include a cash dispersement of $1,323.66, a shortened payment term or a lower mortgage payment.
What You Need to Do
To get the necessary information, call our office at ***-***-**** before (date). Please have eligibility code ********* ready when calling our Enhancements Help Desk to discuss your new loan information.
Note: Due to the number of homeowners positively affected by these changes, call volume may be high. To help expedite the process, please have your eligibility code available when calling.
Bank Name
Understanding FNMA Enhancements
FNMA is actually short for the Federal National Mortgage Association. Another name you most likely know this organization by is Fannie Mae. While Fannie Mae doesn’t issue mortgages to consumers or lend them money, they do buy mortgages directly from lenders.
Fannie Mae was founded back in 1938 to create more affordable housing within the United States and has been publically traded since 1968. If you head over to Fannie Mae’s website, you’ll find a wealth of information under the “Homeowners & Renters” tab. Choose “Know Your Options” from the drop-down menu.
It is there that you will find information on refinancing, disaster relief, payment deferral and affordable mortgages. Never use the contact information on a Fannie Mae Enhancements letter. Instead, go straight to the Fannie Mae website and contact them from there. That way you don’t take a chance of being scammed or giving your personal information to the wrong person who could use it to do you harm!
What Does “Aggressive Enhancements Made to Fannie Mae Eligibility” Mean?
Enhancements indicate positive changes, which Fannie Mae is always making. In fact, Fannie Mae expanded eligibility for their RefiNow program back on June 5th 2021. This allowed many homeowners to reduce their monthly mortgage payments by locking in a lower interest rate.
Any “aggressive enhancements made to Fannie Mae eligibility” will always be listed on their website, as well as information on whether you qualify or how you can take advantage of these enhancements.
What Are FNMA Enhancement Letters from JFQ Lending?
As you can see from the letter I received, the financial institution listed is Intercontinental Capital Group Inc., but others have received the same letter from the financial institution JFQ Lending.
In fact, ProFed Credit Union warned their customers of this FNMA Enhancement scam when they were notified that their clients were receiving the letter from JFQ Lending. ProFed reminds customers that their mortgage information is public record, which means anyone can search and discover information about your mortgage, including scammers.
It is important to note that both JFQ Lending and Intercontinental Capital Group Inc. are legitimate companies, but they are not the ones behind the FNMA Enhancements mortgage notices that are being sent to you. A scammer is using their name and instead of calling the actual company, you will be calling them if you use the phone number in the notice.
You can find the real contact info for JFQ Lending and Intercontinantal Capital Group Inc. on their company websites if you’d like to find out what programs they offer, but don’t expect these programs to be the false promises that are in the letter you received.
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In Conclusion: Is the FNMA Enhancement Letter a Scam?
Yes, if you receive a notice FNMA Enhancements correspondence in the mail, it is a scam and you should immediately throw it in the trash. As mentioned above, you can contact Fannie Mae safely and directly on their website if you have any questions or concerns. This eliminates that possibility of being scammed by any fake FNMA Enhancement promises.
Have you received an FNMA Enhancement Notice? If so, let us know in the comments below!
It seems that the benefits you get are too good to be true. Also The letter looks very authentic, and it could easily fool a lot of people especially the elderly. Its always good to double check, especially if your transaction involves money.
Thank you for sharing this information, and hopefully more people are informed about these scams.
Yes, that’s my hope. I want as many scams to be exposed as possible, as well as drill home the importance of doing your research before responding to any letter, email, etc. Thanks for your comment!
I also got an InterContinental Capital Group Inc. letter dated January 2022. Because we are in a world where there is so much desperation, I am relieved that there are places to see that these things are scam. I don’t feel like I am in MY right mind, and it is easy to fall victim to bad actors. Thank you for this posting and explanation.
You’re very welcome and I totally agree that we are in a time when it is easy to fall victim to these scams. I think the more people that can warn others the better! Have a great day and thanks for your thoughtful comment!
I appreciate the info. I just received one of these letters from Camden Loans, and I will toss it.
So glad you found this helpful. I hope it helps others avoid getting scammed!
I received it just today, I do not have any loans what so ever, that I started to search the company ans found this side, I’m so glad I did, thank you for the info.
You’re welcome! I think it’s so important to warn against scams. I don’t want anyone to lose their hard-earned money!