So -- why YouTube? Freddie Mac spokesman Brad German said a quarter of borrowers who are behind on their mortgages say they go to the Internet first to look for information and help. He said the company wants to get "some viral distribution" -- people pointing it out to friends and relatives.

"It made sense for us to post this on the Internet in hopes of alerting more borrowers to the potential pitfalls of foreclosure rescue artists," he said. "This is, as you can imagine, a very vulnerable time for borrowers who are finding themselves in jams."

The direct link is youtube.com/avoidfraud -- though I have yet to get the page to load, so let me know if you can actually watch it. (EDIT on 12/14: I tried again, and now it's loading.)

At freddiemac.com/avoidfraud, the company has information beyond the video highlights.