New Law Limits Barrage of Scams and Deceptive Offers Targeting Homebuyers

AARP fought to relieve mortgage applicants of third-party outreach they don’t want or need

Miriam Cross,

AARP

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Published September 10, 2025

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Buying a home can open the door to a flood of deceptive offers, from charges for unnecessary documents to pitches for warranties you don’t need.

That’s because when you apply for a mortgage, lenders check your credit reports — and credit reporting agencies then sell your information to data brokers and other third parties who target you with their own products, some of which are unwanted while others are outright scams.

Older adults are disproportionately affected by this issue because they make up more than 75 percent of homeowners in the U.S., according to U.S. Census Bureau data. That’s why AARP supported the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation signed into law by President Donald Trump on Sept. 5.

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“People are most at risk for scams during major life events, like buying or selling a home,” noted Bill Sweeney, senior vice president for government affairs at AARP, in a pair of letters to Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Reps. John Rose (R-Tenn.) and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.).

The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act prohibits credit reporting agencies from selling trigger leads — that is, the fact that a consumer has sought financing — to third parties, unless the consumer opts in or has an existing relationship with the company. The point is to stem the tide of phone calls, texts and letters that homebuyers receive after they apply for a mortgage. These can come in the form of postcards that use urgent language to imply there is a problem with the loan that they can only fix by calling a specific phone number. These postcards may list the name of your broker or lender in bold, but only disclose in fine print that the sender has no affiliation. Homebuyers may also be targeted for refinancing offers, warranties or home security assessments that are aren’t worth the money.

“Because these offers look official, victims mistakenly believe they are from their real estate agent or mortgage broker,” wrote Sweeney in his letter. “As a result, they pay for services they think are required, only to learn later they are not.”

Fighting other kinds of fraud

AARP is tackling other predatory practices related to homebuying and mortgage lending.

For example, AARP has backed the successful passage of laws in 32 states that ban restrictive homeowner benefit agreements. In these schemes, real estate brokers tempt homeowners with a small, upfront cash payment in exchange for exclusive rights to sell their home in the future, even after they have passed away. If the homeowner or their heirs use a different listing agent, they can face a steep penalty.

We also tell consumers how to protect themselves from mortgage relief scams, reverse mortgage scams and title theft.

In the realm of credit, Sweeney wrote a letter in June to Reps. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) and Young Kim (R-Calif.) endorsing the Ending Scam Credit Repair Act, or ESCRA. This bill would set stricter rules on how credit repair organizations can charge for their services and market their claims. The bill was referred to the House Financial Services Committee, which held a hearing on the bill in June.

“In many cases, [credit repair organizations] deceive consumers by claiming they can remove bankruptcies, liens and bad loans from their records, or even erase a bad credit history completely,” wrote Sweeney. “Credit repair scams often target older adults who are living on fixed incomes and may feel urgency to restore their credit.”

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