Property Fraud Alert
The Lee Clerk offers property owners a free service to alert them of potential property fraud. Property Fraud Alert emails notifications within 24 hours to subscribers when a deed, mortgage or other land record with their registered name or parcel on it has been recorded into the county’s Official Records.
How to Sign up
Visit the Lee County Clerk of Courts Property Fraud Alert Registration page
You can register personal names, business names, trusts, and individual parcels to receive Alert Notifications. Please check out these Fraud Alert Registration Tips and FAQs before signing up, as these include naming conventions and helpful tips that will greatly improve your results. After review, fill in the items on the registration page to register.
Repeat the registration process as many times as you like to register names and parcels.
You may unregister a name or parcel by entering your email address on the Property Fraud Alert Registration page and then clicking on ‘Receive Email to Edit Property Fraud Alert’. You will receive an email with a list of your registered names/parcels, with links that allow you to un-register each.
Warning Signs of Deed Fraud
When you receive a notification or become aware of:
- A recorded document on your property where you never signed the document and your signature was forged;
- A recorded document on your property where ownership of your property, or a portion thereof, was transferred or sold to another party without your knowledge;
- A recorded document on your property where the signer of the document was deceased at the time of execution of the document;
- A loan was taken out on your property without your knowledge; and
- Changes or alterations were made to a recorded document after you signed it.
Also, if you:
- Stop receiving your property tax bill or notices;
- Receive a Notice of Default or Notice of Trustee’s Sale when you own your home outright (free and clear of a mortgage loan), or when you have a mortgage and you are not delinquent on your loan payments;
- Receive loan documents in the mail for a loan that was obtained without your knowledge; and/or
- Receive real estate documents in the mail for a transaction on your property that was conducted without your knowledge.
The original article can be viewed in full at Property Fraud | Lee County Clerk of Court, FL (leeclerk.org)