What to Do If You Suspect You’re a Victim of Title Fraud
Discovering that you may be a victim of home title fraud is a terrifying experience. The key to mitigating the damage is to act quickly, calmly, and methodically. If you’ve received a suspicious notice or have other reasons to believe your home’s title has been compromised, follow these critical steps immediately.
Step 1: Contact Your County Recorder’s Office Immediately
Your first call should be to the County Recorder or Register of Deeds where your property is located. Inform them that you suspect a fraudulent document has been filed against your property. Ask them for a copy of the suspicious document (e.g., the fraudulent deed or lien). While they cannot remove the document on their own, they can provide you with official copies and information on how to report the fraud.
Step 2: Consult a Real Estate Attorney
Title fraud is a complex legal issue that you cannot solve on your own. You need to hire a qualified real estate attorney immediately. They will be able to review the fraudulent documents and advise you on the necessary legal action, which is typically a “quiet title action”—a lawsuit to have a court legally declare you as the rightful owner and invalidate the fraudulent documents.
Step 3: File a Police Report
Contact your local police department or sheriff’s office to file a report for identity theft and property fraud. While the police may not be able to resolve the civil ownership issue, a formal police report is a critical piece of evidence you will need for your legal case and for dealing with credit bureaus and lenders.
Step 4: Contact the Three Major Credit Bureaus
Since title fraud is a form of identity theft, you need to protect your credit. Contact each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to report the identity theft. Place a fraud alert and a security freeze on your credit reports. This will help prevent the thief from opening new lines of credit in your name.
Step 5: Contact Your Title Monitoring Service
If you have a title monitoring service, contact their fraud resolution or restoration department immediately. They will have experts on staff who can help guide you through the recovery process, which can be an invaluable resource during such a stressful time.
Why DomiDocs is Your Best First Line of Defense
The steps above outline the difficult process of recovering from title fraud. The best strategy is to prevent the situation from ever getting that far. DomiDocs provides the crucial early warning system that is your best defense.
With DomiDocs Home Title Monitoring, you would have received an instant alert the moment the fraudulent document was filed. This early warning can be the difference between stopping a crime in its tracks and spending years and thousands of dollars in a legal battle to recover your home. Furthermore, our integrated platform keeps your original deed and other proof of ownership in a secure vault, organized and ready for the legal fight. DomiDocs provides both the proactive alert and the organized documentation you need to protect your home.
HomeLock™ is the one Property Fraud Protection service that CAN notify you before, during, and immediately after fraud occurs. If more homeowners had HomeLock™, we wouldn’t see so many scammers like this husband and wife who have defrauded dozens of homeowners!
See how DomiDocs and HomeLock™ can protect your home in this Press Release! This layered approach protects both your legal ownership and your financial identity. For more information, read our article on how HomeLock™ can protect you from Title and Deed Fraud.