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Property Fraud Alerts

By Erin Glover-Frey, Esq.

Our office has seen an uptick in victims of fraudulent deeds. This is where a person with no legal claim to your real property either forges your name on a deed or in some other way lies and manipulates a deed to steal real property and sell it to some unwitting purchaser.

While a fraudulent deed is void as a matter of law, it can be an expensive process to have that deed declared void by the court. Often, the true property owner does not find out about the fraudulent deed until years after the fact, making proof that it was a fraud, and finding the fraudster for service of process, more difficult.

As a measure of protection, the Volusia County Clerk of Court now offers a Property Fraud Protection program. Every time a deed, mortgage or other instrument that affects your property is recorded, you will receive a free alert by email or phone. To sign up, go to:

https://www.clerk.org/propertyFraudAlert.aspx

Flagler County Clerk of Court offers a similar Recording Activity Notifications service. Information is available here: https://flaglerclerk.com/recording-activity-notifications/