Unscrupulous businesses that promise to help homeowners in financial trouble are proliferating at an alarming rate.

"Instead of throwing them a life jacket, they are throwing them an anchor," Mal Maynard, executive director of the Financial Protection Law Center in Wilmington, N.C., told the Raleigh News & Observer.

Here are the most common scams to avoid:

• The bailout. A scammer offers to buy your home for much less than its value, with the understanding that you can rent it and eventually repurchase it if certain terms are met. However, the sales price or monthly payments are typically inflated, making it impossible for you to buy the home back. Eventually, the property is forfeited and the new owner sells the home at market value and pockets the equity.
• The fake home sale. In this scheme, a scammer says he will buy your home to get control of the deed or title to the home. In some cases, homeowners believe their lenders have been paid -- but they don't get proof before handing over deeds. The homeowners are still liable for the mortgage, because you have merely signed over the deed, not sold the home. The scammer rents the home to a tenant with an option to buy -- pocketing any down payment and rent -- but never makes a mortgage payment. Eventually the lender notifies you that it is foreclosing on the property. The deed holder walks away with no liability.
• Bogus help. The scammer promises to save your credit or get you low monthly payments. Instead, you pay thousands of dollars in fees, and they do nothing. In the end, you still might be forced into foreclosure or bankruptcy.