Home title theft is a fraudulent real estate crime in which a scammer uses a homeowner’s personal information to steal their home. The scammer often applies for a home equity loan or line of credit in the homeowner’s name. They may also sell or rent out unoccupied homes without the owner’s knowledge or permission.
Scammers will typically use falsified signatures and IDs to obtain ownership of the target’s home. Then, they sign the title to their target’s home over to themselves so that they can sell, borrow against or transfer ownership of it. The target may not realize the truth until a lender sends foreclosure letters due to non-payment.
Signs that you’ve been victimized by scammers
Looking for certain signs could help you determine if fraud has taken place. For example:
- You suddenly stopped receiving bills for property taxes or utilities.
- There’s an increase in utility expenses for unoccupied houses such as your vacation home.
- The payments from your renters have stopped.
- You discover lender payment records or data that you did not authorize.
- You receive notifications about a loan default or foreclosure.
These are some of the steps you can take to protect yourself from title fraud:
- Regularly monitor your credit and verify any new or suspicious accounts or queries on your credit reports.
- Protect sensitive information by not opening attachments from unknown senders, shredding papers that include financial or social security numbers and avoiding unsolicited requests for personal information.
- Review your financial records regularly for any questionable activities, unexpected purchases or overdue bills. You can set up automatic notifications to let you know whenever anything happens with your accounts.
If you suspect you have been a victim of fraud, you must take immediate action. Seek legal assistance to help you quickly and efficiently deal with the aftermath.