In today’s day and age, protecting your property has started to extend far beyond just securing the physical property. With advancement in technology, including AI, cybercrime has become increasingly prevalent and has many people worried. For this reason, adding to the list of items you need to protect from criminals is the deed to your property! This crime can happen in several different ways, but the bottom line is that scammers fraudulently transfer ownership of your home into their name.
How Deed Fraud Happens
One common way that scammers can commit deed fraud is coming to your house claiming to assist in “refinancing your mortgage” or “paying overdue property taxes.” They aim to deceive you and have you sign paperwork that is actually a transfer of ownership document giving them the rights to your home. While this may seem simple enough to protect against, scammers have now even started to forge these types of documents. No matter what type of deed it is, whether home or warranty deeds, increasingly sophisticated criminals can find a way. Another way they accomplish this crime is to act as the owners using electronic communications. They essentially convince everyone at every level of a property sale that they are the rightful owner of the property.
Why This Matters
You may be asking yourself, “Why does this matter to me since I know I am the real owner of the home?” With a forged deed, the “new owner” is able to sell, rent for profit, or take out a new mortgage for the property. In this situation, with likely a lot of damage to undo, hiring a real estate attorney is the only way to prove your true ownership. I also want to note that with these sophisticated documents, it is not as easy as you think to go through this legal process and determine the rightful owner. This is why you need to take steps to monitor, prevent, or protect against this.
Steps to Safeguard Against Deed Fraud
Unfortunately, like identity theft, you cannot prevent the crime from happening in most cases. However, there are some steps you can take in the right direction:
- Verify Before Signing: The only tactic one can really prevent against is when people come to your door asking you to sign documents. Ignore these people or double check with your loan/bank contact before doing anything.
- Record Your Ownership: Depending on the county you live in, some offer to allow residents to record their ownership with local officials to help against this type of attack.
- Use Monitoring Services: There are monitoring services you can purchase that will alert you of any fraudulent document filings. Again, this only notifies you, but does not prevent the crime from happening.
- Title Insurance: All major insurers offer a Homeowner’s Policy of Title Insurance, which is the only policy that truly can protect against this type of crime and potentially make you whole.
We’re Here to Help
If you would like to further discuss this or have any other questions, please reach out to us. Our team is dedicated to helping you protect your assets and ensuring peace of mind. You can contact us at [email protected], or call us at 607-936-3785. We are here to help with everything your money touches.
