Lee County Clerk of Court offers property owners a free service to alert themselves of potential property fraud.
According to the FBI, property and mortgage fraud is one of the fastest growing white-collar crimes. Scammers file fraudulent deeds, making it appear as if they own the property. This type of fraud can go undetected if the property owner does not periodically check the Official Records. Although checking does not prevent the actual fraudulent activity from occurring, it does provide an early warning of what may have otherwise gone undetected.
Property Fraud Alert emails notifications to subscribers when a deed, mortgage or other land record with their registered name on it has been recorded into the Clerk’s Official Records.
We compared the Lee County free service to some of the paid services (such as Lifelock’s Home Title Protect), and while we are not attorneys or investigators, the free service looks pretty much the same as the paid services.
We’ve tried it ourselves and it works. A permit was recently filed with the county, and they alerted us to that fact (a legitimate permit).
Here’s the link for registration of your property:
Property Fraud Alert | Lee County Clerk of Court, FL (leeclerk.org)