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Doug Krizner: It’s estimated that 2.2 million subprime home loans made in recent years have or soon will end in foreclosure. So why are advertisements targeting those with bad credit are still surfacing on the Internet? Here’s Ashley Milne-Tyte:

Ashley Milne-Tyte: These days you might not expect to see online ads featuring the words ‘bad credit OK.’ But the Internet is still peppered with them.

On the surface it makes little sense, says Christopher Thornberg of Beacon Economics. After all, some of these lending companies are closing because of the mortgage crisis. But, he says, not all. And when it comes to many of these advertisers . . .

Christopher Thornberg: A lot of these companies are actually not directly lenders but rather companies that take your information and send it out to lenders.

They still get a commission from a referral even if the applicant doesn’t end up with a mortgage. Thornberg says these ads probably won’t disappear, and that’s bad news for homeowners.

Thornberg: A desperate homeowner who’s faced with foreclosure is also a vulnerable homeowner.

He worries that people in need of refinancing will be even more likely to click on an enticing ad than usual and end up with a very dodgy deal.

I’m Ashley Milne-Tyte for Marketplace.