We've seen complaints lately about suspicious job offers inviting people to be a "HUD Tracer." The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) keeps a list of people who are due refunds related to their HUD-backed mortgages. These lists are public, and there are third-party companies that take those lists and try to track the recipients down - or hire people to track them down.

That's where the bogus job opportunities come from - you might see an ad looking for HUD tracers. If you find a recipient who's due money, you charge them a fee to get their refund. Most of that fee goes to the third-party company, and you keep a percentage. In some cases, as with many work-at-home scams, you are required to pay a fee to sign up - that's a red flag.

But it's very hard to make money at this game. This article explains why.

If you get one of these offers, you can file a consumer complaint with our office.