Mortgage / Refinance Rate Scam
Attack Trigger
Unsolicited refinancing offer with interest rates far below current market rates
What Attackers Want
$500–$5,000 in upfront fees plus financial identity theft
How This Attack Works
Scammers send emails or mailers impersonating legitimate mortgage lenders offering refinancing at impossibly low rates. To lock in the rate, victims pay upfront application, appraisal, or closing cost fees. After collecting fees, the lender becomes unreachable. Some variants steal personal and financial information to commit identity theft or apply for credit in the victim's name.
Red Flags to Watch For
- ✗Advertised rate is significantly below current published market rates
- ✗Offer arrived unsolicited with no prior relationship to the lender
- ✗Upfront fees are required before any loan approval or paperwork is formalized
- ✗Lender cannot be verified through the NMLS Consumer Access registry
- ✗No physical office address, phone number, or licensed loan officer name provided
- ✗Pressure to commit immediately or lose the rate offer
Known Malicious Domains
These domains have been associated with this attack. Never click links going to these addresses.
- low-rate-refinance-now.comMALICIOUS
- mortgage-rate-alert.netMALICIOUS
- refinance-offer-apply.comMALICIOUS
- home-equity-unlock.netMALICIOUS
Glance automatically blocks emails from domains on this list. Domain list is not exhaustive — attackers register new domains continuously.
How Glance Stops This
- Domain similarity analysis catches lookalike sender addresses at millisecond speed
- SPF / DKIM / DMARC validation flags authentication failures before you ever see the email
- VirusTotal + Google Safe Browsing checks every link in real time
- Urgency language detection scores the email higher for manual review
- Known malicious domain blocklist updated continuously from live scan data
Don't wait to get hit.
Glance scans every incoming email against 12 detection layers — including the exact tactics described above — before it reaches your inbox.
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