By Aglaia Pikounis

Federal and state official announced yesterday that they were cracking down on foreclosure rescue scams and loan modification fraud.

That’s surely welcome news in cities like Springfield and Worcester, where thousands of desperate borrowers are trying to save their homes.

Lenders initiated the most foreclosures in those two cities during the first two months of 2009.  Springfield had 201 petitions to foreclose – that’s more than three property owners a day who entered the foreclosure process.

In Worcester, there were 183 foreclosure petitions.

“For millions of Americans, the dream of homeownership has become a nightmare because of the unscrupulous actions of individuals and companies who exploit the misfortune of others,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement yesterday.

“The Department of Justice’s message is simple: if you discriminate against borrowers or prey on vulnerable homeowners with fraudulent mortgage schemes, we will find you, and we will punish you,” Holder said.

Hopefully, this latest effort will prevent Bay State homeowners from becoming the victims of greedy scammers who grab hefty upfront fees with promises of loan modifications.