In 2019, homeowners submitted 118 deed fraud reports. At that rate, we will receive about the same number in 2019 as 2018. While we don’t anticipate an increase over 2018, which is encouraging, the numbers remain too high.
Statistics don’t tell the whole story. Who are the victims? Deed fraud
disproportionately affects people of color and the elderly, often the
city’s most vulnerable residents.
Thieves forge the owner’s and often the notary’s signatures, record the fraudulent deed, and steal the home. By the time the fraud is discovered, the house may have been sold multiple times, maybe to an unsuspecting developer who flips it.
Where does that leave victims? Homeowners face years of costly court
battles to recover their most precious asset, often a family home passed
down for generations.
Our office collaborates with many partners to develop solutions. Over the last year, we’ve worked with legislators, government agencies, the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Fraudulent Conveyance Task Force, the DA’s Office, etc.
We’re taking a three-part approach:
First, we are better educating homeowners and providing them with modern tools to combat fraud.
Last month, we announced a new website: www.phila.gov/deed-fraud. It contains FAQs to assist homeowners and a form to report deed fraud.
We also released our free online service Fraud Guard. Anyone can register. If a deed or mortgage is recorded in your name, you’ll receive an email alert within about 30 days. Sign up at our website, listed above.
The sooner homeowners discover fraud, the sooner it can be corrected, often at less cost than if the fraud goes undetected for longer. Fraud Guard helps speed that discovery — so every homeowner in Philadelphia should sign up.
Second, we developed innovative methods of collecting information to support law enforcement.
For example, we now track the name of every notary appearing on a deed
or other recorded document. This assists law enforcement in identifying
notaries whose signatures are forged or possibly fraudulent notaries.
The public soon will be able to access this online.
In several months, we will implement a web-based system that better tracks individuals recording deeds over the counter. We will continue to scan those individuals’ photo IDs, take their photos, and now obtain digital images of their signatures.
Third, we are exploring options to prevent deed fraud before it occurs. This is more complicated. State law is very strict on when a recorder can refuse to record a deed. Fraud is very difficult to detect up front. Nonetheless, we must be creative and open-minded.
This could mean seeking changes in state law, perhaps in the way notaries’ identities are validated on deeds in Philadelphia. We also are working on a way to confirm before recording a deed whether a thief has forged the name of a deceased owner.
The efforts will not end there. The city and our partners remain committed to fighting this terrible crime. We owe the public no less.
James P. Leonard, Esquire, is commissioner of the Philadelphia Records Department.
This content has been reproduced from its original source.
This content has been reproduced from its original source.
SHARE:Is home title theft a real thing? You bet it is, and here’s how to protect your property
The Watchdog surveyed the county clerks in Dallas, Denton, Collin and Tarrant counties. I also talked to the company that bombards us with advertising. I have experience covering this. A decade ago, I told the story of Norris Fisher, who stole 170 homes in Tarrant County (some kind of record) before he was shipped off to prison. So yeah, it’s real. Crooks can forge names and use fake notary public seals and change the ownership of your house without you knowing it.
Retired Teacher Evicted from Her Home
COVID19 Brings New Wave of Cybercrime
The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented access for cybercriminals to prey upon Americans who are shopping, working and doing virtually everything online – from home. The crime is Home Title Fraud. Cyber-criminals, foreign and domestic target our homes. Why? Because they stand to gain tens, even hundreds of thousands by taking over the title to your home. But it doesn’t just stop there. Cyber-criminals can literally have you evicted from your home.
Domestic and international thieves scour online records for homes with equity. It could be the home you live in, your vacation home, a home of an elderly relative, or rental property you own.
Once they change your home's ownership from YOU to THEM, they re-file the Quitclaim Deed for your home with the proper authorities so it appears your home has been legally sold.
They take out personal loans through banks and online lenders using all your home's equity. You likely won't know you're a victim until you start receiving late payments or foreclosure notices.
Click to see if your home's title has been compromised.
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Everything is stored online these days - including your home's title. Domestic and international cyber-thieves target U.S. homeowners equity in their homes. Removing you from your home's title takes just minutes. Then they forge their name on the title document and refile it. Next, they take out loans using your home's equity and stick you with the payments. You likely won't know until you get a late payment or foreclosure notice from several banks.
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