If you are a homeowner, you are aware of how important and valuable the deed to your home and property is. The deed shows clear ownership and is a legal document. However, it’s not always as secure as one would hope. Sadly, threat actors can tactfully set up a fraud that will allow them to put their name on your deed and make it look completely legitimate.
Let’s take a step back; this isn’t about a robber walking into your house and stealing the deed out from under your pillow. There is a different litany of tasks that could be completed to ultimately achieve the same goal.
An obvious vector, maybe the easiest, would-be taking advantage of elderly folks that don’t understand what they are signing over. It could be as simple as signing their deed over under false pretenses.
Just like any fraud, there are multiple steps that must be carried out to achieve the desired goal of threat actors. Forgery is often an integral part of this process. For this fraud to be successful, the new “deed” will need to be forged to look real with signatures.
Lastly, identity theft is the factor that makes this possible. You see, it’s possible to get away with deed theft for dedicated thieves. If fraudsters want to be successful, they must ensure that all supporting documents not only appear real but are real. The only way to achieve this is to become the victim, through identity theft.
There are proactive tasks homeowners can take to help reduce the risk. Keeping your information private is a great start. Reducing the amount of information you share with the world, keeps the world off your doorstep. Do regular checks of your property records to potentially catch criminal activity and be skeptical of suspicious activity. We encourage you to do your own research and share this information with your friends and family.