New Jersey state Senator Robert Singer (R-Lakewood) says he will introduce new legislation aimed at protecting New Jersey homeowners from becoming victims of property fraud.
The bill would require each county recording office to create a property alert service that notifies homeowners whenever a document affecting their property, such as a deed or lien, is filed.
“There are too many instances where bad actors take a fraudulent lien against a property and the homeowner doesn’t find out until it is too late,” Senator Singer said in a statement. “Establishing this simple safeguard would give homeowners an early warning to spot and stop fraud before it causes serious financial harm.”
Under the proposal, homeowners could voluntarily register for the alert system, which would send notifications whenever a document is recorded under their property’s name or parcel number. The service is designed to provide an early warning to help homeowners respond quickly if suspicious filings appear.
Property fraud, which can involve scammers filing fake deeds or liens to gain control of real estate or extract money from homeowners, has been an increasing concern across the country. The alert system envisioned by Singer’s bill would add a layer of protection similar to fraud alerts offered by credit monitoring services.
If enacted, the measure would task county clerks and recording officers with implementing the notification program and making it available to the public, ensuring uniform access to property monitoring tools statewide.
There are many counties that already have such a system in place.
A big problem with the system is that it’s still ripe for fraud.
For example, since it’s by voluntary participation, scammers are likely to target the demographics who are least likely to participate (which happens to match up with the demographics they already target).
Another hurdle is the possibility (likelihood) that scammers will hijack the means of communication selected; if you register a phone number, they will spoof that number to reach out to the county clerk and change the registered number. Among other likely issues.
Should be done nationwide