WORLD PROPERTY CHANNEL ®

I don't know about you, but I was genuinely shocked the other day to learn how easy it is for con men and con ladies to steal your home - simply using a generic $10 property transfer form purchased at any local office supply store.

The thefts are going on right now across the country - and local city and county property recording offices say they can't stop it. 

Recording office clerks and managers say they know the scam is going on but also say they have no legal authority to question the authenticity of any newly filed deed, or even take the time to compare the new signatures with the old ones - especially  once it shows that it has been notarized and witnessed in front of two persons.

Mind you - not notarized and witnessed in front of someone at the county clerk recording's office, but notarized and witnessed in some back office occupied by the con gang.

The gang then uses the newly filed deed to either sell the house for an outrageously low sum or obtain a quick cash loan from a local bank, using the stolen property as collateral.

They obtain the property owner's name or names from the public records, of course.

Now you might think the lender's rep would take some basic investigative  steps to ensure the signatures on the new deed match in some fashion the signature on the original deed.

No way, my friend.  The newly filed deed will show there is no existing mortgage on the property. Lenders love to see that before committing their funds.

Vacant homes and homes owned by the elderly are easy pickings for the fraudsters.  The elderly are the preferred victims because they generally have paid off their mortgages years ago.

Making a lender's job more difficult, of course, is that con men and con ladies are also good forgers, and if they aren't, they bring in a cohort who specializes in signature forgeries.

So the fraudulent deed now successfully passes the second test - first the recorder's office, then the lender.

The only action the city or county recorder's office takes is to mail back to the "new owner"  his or her submitted fraudulent deed, clerks in Lake and Orange Counties, Florida,  told me in separate phone conversations this week.

Big deal - playing right into the hands of the con men.

Protecting yourself against this specialized fraud is frustrating and time-consuming.  

Investigators familiar with this category of white-collar crime suggest checking with your local property recorder's office from time to time to see that your name is still on the deed. This can be done quickly by computer from home.

If you receive a loan payment book with your name on it, and it isn't your loan, notify the lender or the company that sent you the document.  Also notify the FBI at www.fbi.gov.

And if you sadly discover your home has been stolen with a fraudulent deed, immediately contact the state's attorney's office or the district attorney in your county.

How widespread is this scam?

As an example, a reporter for the New York Daily News recently downloaded the current deed information on the Empire State Building, a world landmark.. He transferred the data to a generic property transfer form, had it notarized and witnessed, and filed it under a phony corporate name with the New York City Register's Office.

The entire scam took 90 minutes.  The reporter now legally "owned" the Empire State Building.  After publishing his story, of course, he returned the Manhattan skyscraper to its rightful owner - by re-filing the phony deed.

Scams such as the above, I'm afraid, are just the beginning of a new era in a new category of white-collar crime. It's a sad commentary on our times.

And that's the way I see it -- for now.

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