Warning about “home-saver” scams INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Foreclosures are on the rise in Indiana, and more homeowners are at risk of losing their homes. Indiana’s I-Team has learned scammers are taking advantage of the foreclosure increase by offering up “home-saver” programs. Al lison Dorris lived in her dream home in Martinsville. “I was completely in love with this place,” Dorris said. “Everything I ever wanted was at this farm. It was perfect.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dorris lost her job and struggled to pay her mortgage. “I had no income at all for nine months, and I don’t know how many people plan for nine months of no income, but I unfortunately did not do that,” Dorris said. Allison Dorris and Kara Kenney with Indiana’s I-Team. (WISH Photo) She received a phone call threatening foreclosure, and the caller gave a phone number for a company that could help save her house. “I was in danger of losing my home,” Dorris said. Dorris didn’t lose her home, but she did lose $9,000 to a mortgage relief scam. “I thought the money was going toward my mortgage, but it wasn’t,” Dorris said. “I’m embarrassed, and I feel like I should have known better. I was scared and I just didn’t want to lose my house.” Dorris filed a complaint with the Indiana Attorney General’s office, but never got her $9,000 back. Home-saver scams can happen anywhere, but scammers are targeting areas hardest hit with foreclosures. An ABC News analysis ranked Indiana 5th worst in the country for foreclosures. Our state averaged 3 per 1,000 homes from 2020 to 2025. (WISH Photo) The top 10 worst Zip codes for foreclosures are all in Marion County, ABC News found. “It’s not just density. There’s something else going on with these neighborhoods,” Mark Nichols, senior manager of data journalism at ABC News said. ABC News / OTV Data Analysis: Mortgage foreclosure crisis hits poorer, non white neighborhoods hardest He found 6 of the top 10 Zip codes have mostly non-white residents. “What we’ve found is a lot of these neighborhoods are being gentrified,” Nichols said. Gentrification is when higher-income people move into traditionally marginalized neighborhoods. Gentrification can fuel foreclosures by driving up home values and property taxes, which increases financial pressure on low-income homeowners. “It is systemic and it kind of plays out to the misfortune in many cases of those who are longtime residents of that neighborhood,” Nichols said. Scammers know what’s going on, and that’s why they’re offering up mortgage relief services. The Indiana Attorney General’s Office issued a warning that scammers may ask for a fee up front by promising to lower payments or save your home, but then they do not deliver. Indiana’s I-Team spoke with Chase Haller, section chief of the Homeowner Protection Unit at the Indiana Attorney General’s Office. “It’s important for people to realize that when there’s a foreclosure filing that’s actually public record, and so a scammer can get that information very easily and target those homeowners with direct mailings or even try to get their other contact information to reach them,” Haller said. Chase Haller, section chief of the Homeowner Protection Unit at the Indiana Attorney General’s Office. (WISH Photo) It’s also a red flag if they insist you pay by cashier’s check, wire transfer or mobile payment app. “They may reach out to someone and actually ask them to transfer title to their property, which is obviously even a bigger concern,” Haller said. “Ultimately, you could lose title to your house, which is obviously a big deal for most people. That’s their most significant financial asset that they have.” ABC News spoke with Prentiss Cox, a law school professor at the University of Minnesota. “I can help you save your home-is very powerful for people who are in distress,” Cox said. He calls the problem “foreclosure equity stripping.” “You get a lot, lot more people in foreclosure that also have equity in their home, and that creates a ready-made market for the people who want to strip that equity away and take it for themselves,” Cox said. A recent report from the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana found people are facing rising property taxes, utility bills, and home insurance premiums on top of their mortgages. Key findings also include: Statewide, there were 10,585 mortgage foreclosure case filings in Indiana in 2025, a 16.1% increase from 2024. In February 2026, Indiana ranked first out of all states for the highest rate of foreclosures, according to ATTOM, with one foreclosure action for every 1,597 housing units. The Indianapolis metro area also ranked third among large metro areas for the highest foreclosure rate in February 2026, with one foreclosure action for every 1,249 housing units. Some Indianapolis neighborhoods experienced a higher rate of mortgage foreclosure starts compared to the rest of the city. In Northwest-Riverside and Crown Hill, there were more than 24 foreclosure starts per 1,000 owner-occupied households in 2025, more than triple the rate for the county at large. Foreclosure sales have steadily risen post-pandemic, with 437 sales in 2025, a 20% increase from 2024. Apart from mortgage foreclosure, homeowners may also lose their homes by falling behind on their property taxes. In 2025, there were 883 tax delinquent owner-occupied residential properties in Marion County, a 36% increase from 2024. The Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana is calling on policymakers and lenders to address the problem and keep Hoosiers in their homes whenever possible. The Attorney General’s Office provided documents showing enforcement actions against bad actors in Marion and Floyd Counties. “In one case, we were able to obtain title back to the property to the original homeowner,” Haller said. If you’ve been impacted by this scam, contact Investigative Reporter Kara Kenney at [email protected]. You can also file a complaint with the Indiana Attorney General’s Office by clicking here. ...read more read less