Title thefts rising: What Doña Ana County is doing to protect homeowners
Home title theft is definitely a “thing.” According to the FBI, home title thieves use forged deeds to put someone else’s home or other property into their name. The perpetrator then sells the property to an unsuspecting buyer or fools a lender into making a loan against the property. The scammer then pockets the sale or refinance proceeds and disappears into the night. In either case, the fraudulent transaction can cause serious legal issues for the true owner of the property.
While home title theft monitoring can be obtained from private companies for an annual fee of around $200, the Doña Ana County Clerk’s Office offers the service at no charge. “The alert system allows residents of Doña Ana County to monitor mortgages, deeds, or any other important legal property document that includes the owner’s name or description”, according to a recent press release from the clerk’s office.
The release went on to say that, “Property owners can register their name as it appears on their deed along with any variation or nickname. If a document is recorded with the criteria registered, the property owner will receive an email alert and have access to the recorded document to verify if the document pertains to their property.”
Since home title theft is a form of identity theft, scammers may also attempt to compromise a person’s credit by opening accounts or applying for credit cards. An effective method of preventing access to your credit files is to put a “security freeze” in place. Putting a freeze in place is as easy as submitting a request to one of the three credit bureaus: Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax. The bureaus are obligated to put the freezes in place within three business days if they receive the request by mail, or within 15 minutes if they receive the request by secure electronic method or by telephone. Pin numbers are then issued so that consumers can lock and unlock their files at will.
Consumers who have been victims of fraud can also place fraud alerts on their credit files. To request a security freeze or place a freeze or fraud alert on your Equifax file, log on to www.freeze.equifax.com or call (800) 349-9960. Transunion can be accessed at www.transuntion.com/credit.freeze or by calling (888) 909-8872. Experian can be reached at www.experian.com/freeze or (888) 397-3742.
In Doña Ana County, property owners can sign up for deed theft alerts by visiting https://donaana.nm.publicsearch.us/ and clicking on the Property Alert option at the top of the screen. For more information on the recording and filing services, you can visit www.donaanacounty.org or call 575-647-7421.
It is important to keep in mind that while deed and credit alerts provide notice of an attempted or successful breach of one’s information, it is up to the consumer to take whatever steps are necessary to rectify the situation.
See you at closing.
Gary Sandler is a full-time Realtor and owner of Gary Sandler Inc., Realtors in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He loves to answer questions and can be reached at 575-642-2292 or Gary@GarySandler.com
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Title thefts rising: What Doña Ana Co. is doing to protect homeowners
