Tippecanoe County offers free property fraud alerts
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Fraud is much easier in the digital age when someone can hijack a person's identity, steal their home or jack their credit.
The ounce of prevention for home title fraud is free, Tippecanoe County Recorder Kristy Martin said.
"We've never had it in Tippecanoe County," Martin said about home title fraud.
However, there has been a case that is under investigation of a St. Louis, Missouri, man with the same name as a Tippecanoe County man laying claim to the local property, Martin said. But this appears that it might be a human error.
"We offer a property fraud alert," Martin said. "Anytime that we get something recorded in their last name, it notifies that person by text, email or phone. It will tell them in detail what kind of document came in, when, the number on it, the type of document.
The fraud alert is free to enroll, Martin said of the program the county has offered since 2008.
Only about 2,000 people have signed up over the past 15 years, so Martin is concerned that people are unaware of it.
Signing up for the alerts is easy and can be done by phone to the recorder's office or online. The address is propertyfraudalert.com. Or people may link to the site at tippecanoe.in.gov or by scanning the QR code with their smartphone, which takes them to the enrollment site.
"It alerts them and prompts them to call our office," Martin said of the alerts.
Former recorder and now Chief Deputy Recorder Shannon Withers said, "It prompts them to call us right away."
Typically, the issues that prompted the alert can be cleared up with a phone call, Withers said.
"If they tell us, 'Hey. I didn't do this.' Then they call the police," Martin said.
The property fraud alert does not prevent the fraud and it does not cover the cost to defend against the fraud, Martin said.
"It does get the ball rolling a lot sooner," she said. "Within 24 hours. Instead of finding out five, 10, 20 years later down the road that they don't own this property."
Typically, scammers prey on the most vulnerable in society.
"They target older people who do not have a mortgage," Martin said. "(Power of attorney) is another huge one. They check those (powers of attorney filings). They go and fraudulently convey property."
The victims often don't know their property has been stolen from them until they sell or the legitimate homeowner tries to transfer the deed, Martin and Withers said.
The recorder's office is powerless to stop the transfer of the property, Martin said.
"We don't police documents. We follow the law," Martin said. "There's no way for us to know the validity of a document."
Withers added, "(The validity of a document) would be up to a judge to decide."
Often times the criminals use a quick claim deed to steal the property, Withers and Martin said.
Sales disclosures go to the auditor's office, where the property is actually transferred to another owner, Martin said. The auditor's office checks the history of the property, the names on the sales disclosure and other important details. If it checks out, then the deed is sent to Martin's office to be recorded.
The difference between the fraud protection people pay for and the county's free alerts is that the paid subscriptions have attorneys on retainer to defend people if they are victims of fraud, Martin said.
The county-funded alert system will only give the title owner a heads up. Fixing the problem, including the legal fees, falls on the property owner.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Tippecanoe County offers free property fraud alerts
