I-Team: How local county plans to slow rise in deed fraud

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Deed fraud is on the rise across our community, according to the Montgomery County Recorder.

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This involves criminals stealing your home or rental property, in some cases, without you even knowing about it until it’s too late.

I-Team Lead Investigative Reporter John Bedell explained the ways you can protect yourself and your home tonight on News Center 7 at 6 p.m.

When talking about deed fraud, News Center 7 is referring to your most valuable and most expensive asset, which could be your home or other real estate you own.

When someone else tries to make it seem like they own your home or property, that’s deed fraud.

It’s stealing your property and Montgomery County Recorder Stacey Benson-Taylor says it’s happening across the county.

“I have had complaints and calls from Huber Heights, from Centerville, from a realtor who has received information regarding farmland,” Benson-Taylor says.

It’s a problem that’s happening more often.

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Benson-Taylor says in 2021, she used to hear one to two complaints a month working at the Recorder’s Office.

Now, she says she’s getting two to three complaints every week from people impacted.

She’s now working to spread the word about a free option to people who own property in Montgomery County.

They can register property with her office’s Fraud Alert Notification System. To sign up, visit Montgomery County’s website.

Once your property is registered, you’ll get notified by mail or email whenever a document is recorded in the Recorder’s Office on your property.

Most times, you will already know about the transaction.

If it’s suspicious, you can report it to the Recorder’s Office.

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“We want to make sure that we are proactively protecting our properties here in Montgomery County,” Benson-Taylor said.

You can sign up online or in person on the 5th floor of the Montgomery County Administration Building.

Benson-Taylor says you should sign up if you own and live in your home, if you own rental property, if you’re working to get a late family member’s property reviewed by a probate court, or if you’re getting ready to sell a property.

She says when they can, they refer these cases to the prosecutor’s office for possible criminal charges against people doing this.

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