Menu
Dave Miller – Tech Enthusiast & Security Expert – June 30th, 2022
Title theft is not a new crime but a pressing issue that makes many people wonder how to prevent home title theft online. Homeownership is still the American Dream. Despite All the challenges, owning a house may be one of life’s greatest joys. What if you lose a dream due to a tragedy that you weren’t even aware had occurred and only learned about much later? And when it does, the results might be disastrous. With several claims of deed fraud happening across the United States last year, this issue is even worsening.
In the following paragraphs, learn about house title theft, including its causes and prevention strategies.
Identity theft is when someone takes your personal information and uses it to commit fraud. There are several ways to commit identity theft. Mainly they might use your information to apply for other services, endangering your financial situation and costing you money and effort. Identity theft recovery may take years, depending on the specifics.
Fact: Worldwide, one person becomes a victim of identity theft every two seconds, and in 2019 and 2020, 47% of Americans reported having their financial identities stolen.
The worst part of identity theft is that victims frequently don’t realize their identity got stolen. It is until they get calls from creditors about a poor credit score. You also cannot entirely protect yourself against identity theft. But, you will be better able to defend yourself if you know how to prevent home title theft online by saving your information that may be in danger. Once you identify identity theft early, you may be able to take care of it.
Title fraud is a little-known component of identity theft. It happens when someone uses your stolen identity to illegally transfer your asset title into their name by forging your name on a deed.
Additionally, a fraudster might take out a mortgage or another sort of loan against your house by fabricating paperwork with stolen information and claiming ownership. It takes victims a long time to learn about these severe crimes since they get carried out using the proper paperwork and understanding of how the real estate transaction process operates.
Fact: Identity theft may get reversed in an average of 100 to 200 hours over six months. Working with the three leading credit reporting agencies to issue a fraud alert may be part of the recovery process.
It could appear incredibly challenging to accomplish this. Unfortunately, it may be relatively easy. Many deeds and property titles are available online, typically through a real estate register. It allows con artists and robbers to fake the title documents to your house.
So, the con artist commits forgery by forging the homeowner’s signature on a deed and submitting it to the county clerk.
Or by fraud, the homeowner delivers the deed to the con artist without understanding the consequences.
With a promise of refinancing, thieves can defraud older adults or distressed homeowners. After then, the transaction is officially recorded as a home sale, giving the thief possession.
If you don’t frequently monitor your home equity line of credit. In that case, thieves may be able to access it, take out the equity, and use your name to deceive lenders.
Once the fraudster has completed creating a fake transfer deed in their name and has targeted your home. They then borrow money or sell against the clean title after fabricating a discharge of the current mortgage. You won’t learn unless you pay close attention to the lender’s notification regarding the foreclosure of the property against which the mortgage got taken. Or when a total stranger is now the legal owner of your house.
Being aware is the first step toward protecting oneself. Your house and other sensitive information might get better protected if you are well-versed in self-defence techniques.
Use the following advice to keep spreading awareness and how to prevent home title theft online:
Preventing house title theft from occurring in the first place is the best defense. Be cautious while opening emails for your cyber hygiene. Any suspicious emails shouldn’t contain links or attachments that you should open. Change your passwords frequently and choose strong ones. Never make a hasty decision when it comes to your finances or your property.
Keep your identity and sensitive information hidden from guests. Use a trustworthy, authorized title firm when buying a property. Knowing these things can help you avoid the risks associated with becoming an identity theft victim.
Keep an eye on your paperwork at all times. Do open letters from other mortgage firms, especially if it gets intended for someone else. Keep an eye out for utility bills and other statements; if they start to vanish or change randomly, your property’s identity and title may be at risk. Contact the service provider immediately if you’ve observed that you’ve never gotten a bill or that an automated withdrawal never occurred.
The best approach to spot indications of title fraud is to keep an eye on your credit score. You can enroll in a subscription credit monitoring program to allay any worries. Get notified if someone tries to delete your name from an existing bank account or add new account holders. Annualcreditreport.com provides free credit reports every year.
Note: Beware of con artists masquerading as title protection companies. More con artists are trying to take advantage of individuals as they want to protect their titles.
To safeguard you from fictitious claims or liens placed against your property, a title firm guarantees the property’s title. When you purchase a house, closing fees include a one-time premium for the owner’s title insurance. You are protected if you choose to get owner’s policy title insurance.
Because title lock insurance may not provide much protection, you do not need it. After the theft, it simply notifies you if a deed got moved out of your name. Some experts even call it a waste of money as it offers nothing. On the other hand, companies do sell these services, and customers do buy
You don’t have much time to hesitate and consider your options if you suspect you’ve been the victim of house title fraud.
Fact: According to the Javelin Research team, 40 % of identity fraud takeovers occur within 24 hours of a thief gaining access to a victim’s account.
Take these quick actions:
The Federal Trade Commission must get informed of all the information first. IdentityTheft.gov will generate your identity theft report and recovery strategy based on your submitted data. Businesses can verify that their identity was stolen by looking at their identity theft report. Additionally, it gives you specific privileges.
It would help if you also informed local and federal law authorities, particularly your neighborhood FBI office, about the scam.
Note: You will have separate parameters for each city, established by the local authorities. If we talk about New York. Homeowners who believe they are the victims of deed fraud get instructed to report the crime immediately to the city’s sheriff and obtain a certified copy of the forged document from the city register’s office
Put your creditors on fraud alert. Make contact with any banks that may be able to freeze the credit. Additionally, you might want to contact your title insurance provider if you have one.
In the end, you’ll need to speak with a lawyer with experience in title disputes or real estate fraud.
Even though you might not yet have that belief in the identity theft risks. To further emphasize why you should take steps to ensure your security. Or risk being a victim of home title theft, I have gathered some fascinating statistics.
9,600 victims of mortgage and rental fraud lost more than $56 million in 2017, according to the FBI. While According to the Journal of World Economic Research, deed fraud will have caused more than $1 billion in damages in 2022.
A record 847,376 charges of cybercrime were filed to the FBI by the general public, according to the FBI’s Crime Report 2021.
According to Javelin Strategy, an estimated 15 million Americans had their identities stolen in 2021.
The committers of deed fraud will surely get jail sentences because it is a federal felony. However, title theft frauds continue to increase. Our information can spread throughout the internet due to a lack of protection. To ensure an anxious existence, however, as a residential owner, these are possessions that you need to safeguard.
Learning how to prevent home title theft online starts with protecting your assets, constantly be watchful and alert. Set up identity theft protection and credit monitoring services to receive alerts if any questionable occurrence occurs. Because Your data may still be leaked online despite all self-precautions.
**Onlinecloudsecurity.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a way for websites to earn advertising revenues by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate we earn affiliate commissions from qualifying purchases.**
Dave Miller is an IT Consultant for Online Cloud Security and has over 7 years of experience in the Information Technology space. He also specializes in repairing laptops & computers. In his spare time, he loves to talk about new technologies and hosts monthly IT and Cyber Security meetings in the Houston area.
Click any button down below to share this article on the following channels:
Online Cloud Security is here to recommend you the most secure devices, from laptops to smartphones, we only want to provide you with products that we have tested and used ourselves for online security. Every product that we recommend is heavily inspected and tested for security against hackers, viruses, malware, and any other intruders that may want to steal your information.
Online Cloud Security is here to recommend you the most secure devices, from laptops to smartphones, we only want to provide you with products that we have tested and used ourselves for online security. Every product that we recommend is heavily inspected and tested for security against hackers, viruses, malware, and any other intruders that may want to steal your information.
Your Trusted Source for Online Security
