Home Title Theft 101 (what you NEED to know)

It is one of the fastest growing schemes in the country. Con artists stealing your home with the stroke of a pen. Wow, you hear a news report like that and it really catches your attention, doesn't it? The fastest growing schemes, one of your most valuable assets being stolen from right under your nose. Before you freak out about home title theft or go out and buy title fraud insurance, let's step back for a moment, understand what's really happening, how it could affect you, and whether or not purchasing some kind of title monitoring or insurance is even necessary. Hey guys, it's Josh here from All Things Secured where I cover various topics related to your personal privacy and digital security. This whole home title fraud stuff first came to my attention when talking to my dad, who I think had heard about it from an advertisement on radio or TV. I'm not entirely sure, but I do know that there were some big advertising campaigns playing all over the US last year. Anyway, the more that I dug into this, it's clear why people like my dad are worried. I mean, who would want to suddenly be evicted from their own house after being shocked with the news that they no longer own it, or perhaps find yourself in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt on a home collateral loan that you didn't authorize. I mean, that's some pretty scary stuff. Now, before I can break down not only why this isn't the fastest growing scam right now, but also why you don't need to be worried about it as much as it seems, let's take a look at how this kind of fraud works. You might be surprised to learn that your house title isn't an actual document. Your deed is a legal document, but a title is defined as the legal right to ownership of a property, including the right to sell it. So perhaps this should be called home deed fraud instead of home title. Whenever you bought your house, the title company does extensive due diligence to make sure that the seller actually has the ownership right to sell that home and that there aren't any other legal claims on the property. Mortgage lenders, title companies, and even real estate firms have so many checks and balances in place to make sure that when a house is bought or sold, there isn't any kind of fraud involved because a lot of times they would be on the hook for that, not you. But even more important than that, you need to understand this very basic principle. When any kind of title fraud happens, it's not legal. It's a crime. I mean, somebody tried to steal actress Halle Berry's house in Los Angeles a few years ago, and guess what? He was arrested and charged with forging a fraudulent document. That's it, end of story. So if somebody randomly shows up at your door one day claiming to have purchased your house, you have every right to be freaked out for just a moment. And then after you take a breath and collect yourself, realize that they were the ones that got conned, not you. If the new deed is in fact fraudulent, then a bank can't come after you for fraudulent borrowing. Again, that's on them, not you. Now, if that's not enough to ease your concerns, in the most recent FBI internet crime report, you can see here that of all the different kinds of threats that we face, and there's a lot of them, real estate related crime is pretty low on the list. And that number you see there of 11,578 cases, that's actually down from the year before, not up. Here's the final nail in the coffin. What the FBI refers to as real estate fraud includes even rental and timeshare crimes. So home title fraud represents just a small fraction of this already small number. I mean, don't get me wrong, it sucks if you're one of those people who has to prove that you still own your own home. But you probably have greater risk of being kidnapped during your next vacation, and you're not gonna go buy insurance for that, are you? Oh, wait, oh, you can buy insurance for kidnapping? Okay, well, maybe that's not the greatest example. Paying for somebody to monitor your title may put your mind at ease, and if that's what you want, go for it. But at the end of the day, they're only going to alert you after the title has been fraudulently transferred. And frankly, most counties now offer this as a free service anyway. I just went online myself and searched for the name of my county, along with the term title notifications, and within five minutes, I'd register with my home county to be notified if any document is recorded with my name on it. Listen, the people who are most risked for this kind of fraud, and hear me clearly, I said the most of a very small risk fall into three categories. Those who have paid off their mortgage entirely, those houses that are currently unoccupied and not monitored, and finally, the elderly. Although if you're watching this video right now, the fact that you're wanting to be vigilant about your protection, and you're going to register for free county alerts, it kind of takes you off that list anyway. By the way, that guy they interviewed in the news clip that I shared at the top of this video, he's a senior advisor for Home Title Lock, a company that profits off of any fear or uncertainty that people have about their home title. So as you can imagine, it's in his best interest to tell you that this kind of fraud is a big deal, you should be scared, and you should pay somebody to help you. It's a shame that I have to remind you and myself to be skeptical of outrageous claims meant to instill fear, yet it continues to happen every single day. If this video was helpful, and you want more practical, easy to understand advice related to your privacy and security, subscribe to this channel, and click here to watch our last video.