About PRoperty Fraud

Property fraud is a crime also referred to as deed fraud or document fraud. There have been national reports of fraud where forged, false, or fraudulently induced deeds are recorded against properties without the knowledge or consent of the owner. Property fraud tends to occur on properties that are unoccupied, do not have mortgages, or have high equity value. 

• False pretenses – where the property is acquired because of intentional misrepresentation. 

• Forgery – where the fraudster impersonates the property owner and signs the deed. 

• Fraudulent Heir Conveyances – One heir of the property sells it without adding the other heirs to the sale. They pocket all profits when other the heir(s) are entitled to a portion. (Intentionally leaving off other heirs for the property)

• Fraudulent Inducement – the right person signs the document to sell, but the property was given to an entity they didn’t know of. Or they didn’t know what they were signing. (Elder abuse, etc.)

• Fraud with Sovereign Citizens – Sovereign citizens fraudulently recording liens of properties. 

• Entity High jacking – someone changes the members of the entity (LLC, etc.) to convey the property.

• Notary fraud – where the fraud is perpetrated by an individual misrepresenting their authority, where credentials have been stolen, or the notary has intentionally falsified a notarial act.

• Seller Impersonation Fraud – (most common) Someone impersonates a seller and conveys the property from under the real owners. It’s usually complex criminal organizations that try to get as much info of the owner by phishing. This is seen a lot with overseas embassy documents.

•  Consult with a title company regarding proper title insurance coverage
• Talk to your homeowners insurance provider about available fraud coverage
• Register for the Property Recording Alert Service in your county
• Consider freezing your credit with the credit bureaus
• Monitor activity on your social security number

County recorders are charged with the responsibility to record any document authorized or required by law. When a document meets basic statutory (state or local) recording requirements and the appropriate fees are paid, the recorder is required to record. Recorders generally do not have the authority to audit the content of a document or determine its enforceability, efficacy, or accuracy. For this reason, many Nevada County Recorders have implemented a free Property Recording Alert System for their constituents.

Property Recording Alert Systems exist to inform landowners when there are documents recorded against their property. These systems do not prevent fraudulent activities but do provide for early detection of fraud and timely automated notice of all recording activity.

Sign up for free property recording alerts on your County Recorder webpage. 

• Carson      City
• Churchill      County
• Clark      County
• Douglas      County
• Elko      County
• Esmeralda      County*
• Eureka      County*
• Humboldt      County
• Lander      County
• Lincoln      County*
• Lyon      County
• Mineral      County*
• Nye      County
• Pershing      County
• Storey      County
• Washoe      County
• White      Pine County*

*County does not have an active recording alert system at this time. 

• Google Alerts is a content change detection and notification service offered for free by Google. This service allows you to monitor the web to find pages containing specific keywords like name, address, and APN.  
• my      Social Security is a free account service to help you keep track of records and identify suspicious activity. Social security numbers are sometimes compromised and used for the purpose of impersonating someone.
• A variety of free and paid credit bureau monitoring services also exist.

1. First, report the suspected property fraud to your local law enforcement agency.
2. Next, report the suspected property fraud to the State of Nevada Attorney General’s Office fraud unit for investigation.       
3. If you experienced a monetary loss, report the scam with the FBI’s internet crime center.
4. Lastly, contact your title agency and/or seek urgent legal advice. We also recommend working through your home insurance provider for fraud restoration services.