I got a call today. Doesn't recognize the number, didn't answer. They left a message. He said he was calling on behalf of my mortgage company about a letter they had sent me wanting to lower my interest rate and my mortgage insurance rate.

I don't remember getting a letter but I don't open the statement most months as I have it setup to pay automatically through my bank. I only open mail that says important or something like that. He obviously knew my name, phone number, and who my mortgage company is. I googled the number he was calling from and got no his. Is it a scam or do they really do things like this?

Call the mortgage company directly and ask.  Can't hurt, I got a letter from chase a few years ago and they refi'd mine with no costs to me and lowered my rate.

Many banks and even scammers will call you and know the balance of your mortgage.  They mostly want you to refinance with them and take over the mortgage.

And your life. Once they have you fill out that information they have you entire identity to sell to mobsters from Nigeria and Moscow.

It does make sense for people to be calling you on refinances right now as rates are at two or three year lows.

Worst case it's a scam.

On the other hand, creditors can get your mortgage information and try to sell you on better rates, etc. legitimately. But make sure the people calling you are legit. If you ask for their contact information and they hang up, they are obviously scammers. I'd also look them up and call a different number and try to get back to someone independently. As always use caution.

I get scammer calls on my cell phone all the time with people telling me that I have suddenly "qualified for a lower rate on ALL my credit card accounts." I never fall for it, mostly because I pay off all my credit cards fully each month. Plus when I ask what their company name is, or the operator's name, or a contact number, or anything, they hang up immediately.

" On behalf of" tell you it is a scam.  Why on earth would they call you unless they make money off of you?

They get your balance from your credit report.

Most likely your name got on a list.  mortgages are public records and the guy was fishing for a deal.  It's not really that surprising.  If you want a low interest rate on your mortgage, work with an ARFCOMMER

May be legit.  Sometimes a mortgage company will want to refi their customers to keep a lock on them.  Otherwise their competitors will steal them with better rates or slick advertising.  Mortgaging is a dog eat dog world where they sometimes have to take less just to keep what they have.  I had a mortgage with Midland Mortgage out of Oklahoma City.  Good company who offered me a good rate when I needed it.  But they wouldn't even talk about a refi so they lost my business when another company offered me a 3% locked rate for 15 years.

Or the company will lower your rate slightly but roll you back into another 30 year mortgage to pull more total interest from you than if you refinanced at the lower rate for the term remaining on your existing mortgage.

As far as I know, any refinance resets your ammortization tables because it is a new loan with a new starting date.  As you said just getting a lower rate can and frequently does result in the bank getting more of your money.

I'm only a year into mine so if it's legit it would probably save me money.