Freddie Mac is supporting a major consumer awareness campaign, Don't Borrow Trouble, to help individuals avoid predatory lending practices. Mayor Thomas M. Mead and the Massachusetts Community and Banking Council pioneered the campaign in Boston, and Freddie Mac is now expanding the campaign to communities nationwide. The campaign combines public education and counseling services to tell people how to identify and avoid predatory lending practices. It includes brochures, posters, transit ads, television commercials, and public service announcements. With on-site training from the National Consumer Law Center, local groups also answer questions from potential borrowers and provide assistance to consumers who have already taken out a loan.

The goal of this program is to help homeowners avoid lending practices that strip away their home's equity.

Since 2000, Freddie Mac has provided seed funding, a bilingual media toolkit, project coordination, marketing consultant services, and on-site training from the National Consumer Law Center to help expand the campaign nationwide. As of May 2006, the campaign had been introduced in 30 states and 42 cities.