Scams and fraud are nothing new; however, as a homeowner, you need to be aware thieves are committing Home Title Theft, and you may not know until you receive a foreclosure notice.
By stealing snippets of your personal information, like your address and Social Security Number, thieves create fake deeds and convert ownership out of the rightful owners’ names. They use stolen identities and forged signatures to apply for refinancing on your mortgage. Scammers can withdraw your equity, leaving you with another mortgage, or can access your equity though a home equity line of credit, leaving you responsible for the debt.
Protecting Your Home
You can register with the Filing Activity Notification System (FANS) through the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority. The system notifies you when certain real estate and personal property records are filed with, indexed, and data is transmitted by Clerks of Superior Court throughout Georgia.
Registration takes less than five minutes and only requires basic information. You can also register for additional notifications for investment properties you own in different counties. Visit https://fans.gsccca.org/.
Best Practices to Prevent Identity Theft and Avoid Scams
- Keep track of your mail and bills you receive.
- Protect your email account, as this can be used to reset passwords for online services.
- Use unique passwords for all accounts by using a password manager to generate and store logins and passwords.
- Use two-factor authentication whenever possible.
- Be wary of links sent to you in emails or text messages.
- Monitor your credit annually at annualcreditreport.com.
- Enable all of the alerts and notifications available on your bank accounts and credit cards.
If you have additional questions, please contact the experts at Henssler Financial. We will be glad to help:
- Experts Request Form
- Email: experts@henssler.com
- Phone: 770-429-9166