Everyone has heard of home burglary before, right? Thugs break in and take things of value from you home. But that is not what I am talking about here.
I am talking about a new criminal activity that has recently become very popular among thieves and crooks. I am talking about literally stealing your home from you without you even knowing about it.
The term is known as ‘house stealing’. It not the actual physical act of loading your home on a tractor bed and driving off. It is perpetrated by a crook or band of thieves assuming your identity and changing the ownership of your home and cashing it out. This is another version in long line identity theft techniques. Here is how it happens and what you can do to protect yourself.
These con artists and fraudsters first target a property of interest. They find out the details of the properties ownership which is readily available as a public record at your local courthouse or city hall.
They create fake identity papers such as a counterfeit social security card or a phony driver’s license. Then they make a trip to an office supply store where they can easily obtain the necessary real estate documents and paperwork they need. Using their fake identification card(s) and the newly created property deeds, they file these with you local government authorities. Unless caught during the act, the property ownership transfers into the name of the new owners. Then they are free to refinance or sell the property, all without the rightful owner ever knowing this has happened!
How does this happen? Doesn’t the government agency know that it is a fraudulent activity? Apparently not since proper identification was provided. Now, your house is stolen and is in someone else’s name. Now the new ‘owner’ can refinance or sell to an unsuspecting buyer, pocket the proceeds and disappear to start the con all over again somewhere else.
House stealing can be stopped. If you use a credit monitoring service or subscribe to an identification theft protection service, you may already be protected. Check with your service provider and check to see if they provide constant monitoring of your credit reports for any liens being placed against your home.
The actual process and the ease with which this can be done are downright frightening. What can you do to protect yourself? The FBI advises that the best way to ensure you are protected is to monitor your county or local authority’s deeds office for any and all liens created and assigned against your property.
And there is a website you can visit for a free solution that does just that. This is free service will monitor public documents for any association with your registered property(s) and will alert you in any case there is a change made to them.
Find out more at their website at http://www.epropertywatch.com
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