If you want to read a chilling story, try this one published yesterday by the Los Angeles Times. It details the devastating effects that loan-modification scammers can have on their victims.

The Times' story details the plight of a Hesperia, Calif., homeowner who thought she was working with officials from her mortgage lender to modify her mortgage loan. The homeowner paid more than$5,000 that she thought was being used to modify her mortgage loan into one that she could more easily afford each month.

Instead, the homeowner had sent all that money to scam artists who pocketed the money and did nothing to help her renogiate the terms of her loan. No one, it turned out, from the homeowner's mortgage lender had ever contacted her. Everything was a scam.

This homeowner is far from alone. The Times' story cites other homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure because they thought they had worked out arrangements with their mortgage lender to keep their residences. Instead, they merely had sent money to con artists.

You can protect yourself from these scams, though. If someone calls you with a loan-modification offer, don't provide them any information, and don't send in any money. Instead, call your mortgage lender to see if anyone from the company has been trying to contact you.

Secondly, don't work with loan-modification companies that advertise with handmade signs along the roadway. These folks will do nothing to help you modify your home loan. They'll take your money, of course, but will provide precious little service along the way.

These are desperate times for a lot of homeowners. And desperate people don't always think clearly. Scammers recognize this. It's up to you to be on the lookout for any possible cons coming your way.