Owning your home title should be enough to prove that you own your home, but with the increase in home title fraud, that isn’t always the case.
From 2015 to 2019, real estate and rental fraud grew at 2.6x the rate of credit card fraud, and reported losses are now 2x as much as credit card fraud. The worst thing about this kind of fraud is that thieves can steal your entire property without ever setting foot on it.
For instance, in Manhattan, a group of 30 properties were targeted by 4 people who forged the deeds and planned to sell the properties. In another case, 2 women in Maryland took control of 6 properties and began renting them out, using forged deeds. In San Diego, a man illegally and falsely transferred the deed to a major league baseball stadium and was able to keep “ownership” for over two years.
These thieves are operating under identity theft. They forge false deeds using information that can easily be found online. Information such as the homeowner’s identity and equity, primary address and contact information, and examples of the homeowner’s signature can all be found on the internet.
Home Title Lock can be a useful tool in protecting your property. It protects against title forgeries, back taxes, filing errors, and other pitfalls that could surprise homeowners.
Source: HomeTitleLock.com