HOUSTON – Imagine this, you have owned your home for over a decade, and you can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. You make enough to pay your monthly bills, help your kids with paying for college, and even take the occasional vacation. Then, in an instant, your financial life is crushed!
It all starts when you receive a notice stating that your home is being foreclosed on because you have not paid on a $400,000 loan that was opened on your home. You think, wait, I don’t have a $400,000 loan on my property. You look at the notice, and you have never even heard of the lender that sent it, so you immediately reach out to your title company only to find out there is a satisfaction of your primary mortgage that was filed on your home.
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Then it gets worse. You find out that your deed has been transferred to another party and refinanced for the $400,000 as a new primary loan. You obtain copies of the documentation, and you see that your name has been forged on the deed. To make things even worse, there is a notary signature and stamp from the same notary public.
Now you are frantic, so you immediately call the authorities. They investigate only to find out that the person you supposedly transferred your deed to does not exist. You ask the detective how they could possibly have gotten it notarized. You guessed it. The notary doesn’t exist either, and to top this nightmare off, he tells you there is no trace of the money or the thief.
What do you do now? Well, you must get an attorney and spend money that you don’t have to try and fix this tragedy. You find out that there is far from a guarantee that you will get your house back and that the thief will be prosecuted for their crimes. Your legal bills are piling up, your credit is destroyed, and worst of all, there is a chance you could be homeless.
Now, take a breath and let the fear that this could be happening to you subside. There are ways to protect yourself against this nightmare. The FBI put out the following tips to help avoid becoming a victim of property title fraud.
- Check the county clerk’s website often using the online records search tool to ensure there are no deeds or mortgages that you don’t know about on your property. You can search Harris County property records here.
- Set up title alerts with the county clerk’s office so they will email if something comes up. (Not all counties offer this service.)
- Set up online search alerts for your property.
- If you don’t live at the property, drive by regularly or have a management company spot-check it.
- Befriend the members of the community or neighbors to warn you if they see anything suspicious.
- Pay taxes through escrow.
- Ask the local police department if they offer checks, alerts, etc.
If you would become a victim of property title fraud, the FBI offers the following advice on what to do as soon as you discover the “dirty deed”. The FBI says they can stop wire transfers and help recover the money within 72 hours. They say to report it immediately at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or online at tips.fbi.gov. You can also report it to www.ic3.gov, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.