was just contacted by the same lender, if thereis a scam I believe it to be identity related 

Our members run the entire spectrum, from newbie to expert, wholesalers, flippers, landlords, and professionals like attorneys, title company representatives, contractors and lenders.With more than 550,000 members, we do not have the resources available to perform background checks on any of our members, and that includes the lenders.We've created a page to help you avoid loan scams by giving you some "red flags" that are common among scams.We also have a very active forum right here.

Not sure how legit it is or even if they are just scammers using there name to scam people.

I friend of mine said that he thought there were federal agencies or some business's that help you retrieve your money when involved in a scam that help the consumer.

Yes in many places this is required as there are people who run a scam pretending to be owners of vacant propertyAsk your realtor for a copy of the Association of Realtors property management agreement, I know CA has one so maybe IN does too that will give you a much better idea of what is "normal"

They are a scam of a business.

FYI -- Out of an abundance of caution, I got a PIN from the IRS as part of its pilot program to expand the offering to a larger base.https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/identity-protection-pin-pilot-programI filed my personal tax return using TurboTax.

With public investments, the SEC is looking at financial statements reported under penalty of perjury (which is why executives from scam companies such as Enron and Worldcom were sent to prison), while the promoters of private investment scams don't receive as much government attention and require defrauded investors to file the lawsuits.But with the greater potential risk of private investments comes the greater potential reward.

This is not real legal protection for the pet owner, just a scam.

I predict at least 5 people will say "lend it to me" and at least 2 people will private message you to try to scam you out of your money.It isn't necessary to post an amount to ask this question and it kinda puts a target on your back.And on top of that, there is no correct answer to the question.