INVESTIGATION. WE DUG INTO THE CONCERNING THREAT OF REAL ESTATE FRAUD. SCAMMERS POSING AS PROPERTY OWNERS AND SELLING THEIR LAND FROM UNDER THEM. KCRA 3’S INVESTIGATES. LYSEE MITRI JOINS US NOW WITH TIPS ON HOW PEOPLE CAN PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM FALLING VICTIM. MIKE, WE SPOKE WITH THE CEO OF LEXISNEXIS RISK SOLUTIONS GOVERNMENT DIVISION, AND HE SAYS THERE ARE FOUR THINGS PEOPLE CAN DO RIGHT OFF THE BAT TO REDUCE THEIR RISK. ONE CONTACT EQUIFAX, EXPERIAN AND TRANSUNION TO FREEZE YOUR CREDIT. THE REASON YOU WANT TO DO THAT IS YOU DON’T WANT SOMEONE TO TAKE OUT A LOAN IN YOUR NAME. IT TAKES ABOUT TWO MINUTES, AND IF YOU WANT TO GO GET A LOAN FOR A CAR OR A HOUSE, YOU JUST PRESS THE BLUE BUTTON AND IT UNFREEZES IT. THEN JUST PRESS THE RED BUTTON. WHEN YOU’RE DONE. NUMBER TWO SIGN UP FOR INFORMED DELIVERY WITH THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE BEFORE A CRIMINAL DOES IT FOR YOU. WHAT THEY’RE DOING IS THEY’RE PRETENDING YOU’RE YOU. AND BY FILLING OUT THAT FORM ONLINE, THEY GET TO SEE ALL YOUR MAIL AND WHAT THEY’RE DOING IS ONCE THEY CAN SEE YOUR MAIL, IS THE CHECKS THAT THEY’RE TRYING TO MOVE INTO YOUR ADDRESS, THEY CAN GO PICK THEM UP BEFORE YOU DO. NUMBER THREE, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WITH ELDERLY PARENTS, MAKE SURE THEY’RE GETTING DIGITAL BANK NOTIFICATIONS. WHATEVER ACCOUNT THAT THEY USE THAT MONEY CAN GO IN AND OUT OF. YOU WANT TO GET AN ALERT, AND YOU ALSO WANT TO SET UP AN ALARM LIKE YOU CAN PUT FOR EXAMPLE, ANY TRANSACTION OVER A CERTAIN AMOUNT THAT YOU YOU NEED A PHONE CALL OR YOU NEED TO DO A TWO FACTOR AUTHENTICATION. NUMBER FOUR, FIND OUT IF YOUR COUNTY CLERK OR RECORDER’S OFFICE HAS A PROPERTY OWNER. ALERT PROGRAM. YOU WANT TO REGISTER YOUR TITLE AND YOU WANT TO DO THAT BECAUSE SOMEONE CAN VERY EASILY PRETEND THAT YOU’RE YOU AND TAKE YOUR TITLE. AND BY GOING TO YOUR CLERK’S OFFICE AND SETTING UP THE ALERT, IF SOMEONE TRIES TO DO THAT, YOU’RE GOING TO GET A HEADS UP AND YOU CAN PREVENT YOURSELF A WHOLE BUNCH OF PAIN. SO UNFORTUNATELY, THAT LAST ONE, SOME COUNTIES OFFER THAT WHILE OTHERS DON’T. FOR INSTANCE, PLACER COUNTY LAUNCHED A NOTIFICATION PROGRAM TWO YEARS AGO, BUT WE ALSO CHECKED IN WITH SACRAMENTO COUNTY.
Tips to reduce your risk of being a victim of real estate fraud, identity theft
Haywood Talcove, the CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions Government Business, has some tips for reducing your risk of falling victim to fraudsters.
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Updated: 10:27 AM PST Nov 22, 2024
A KCRA 3 investigation dug into the concerning threat of real estate fraud. Scammers are posing as property owners and selling their land from under them.Haywood Talcove, the CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions Government Business, has some tips for reducing your risk of falling victim to fraudsters. Contact Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to freeze your credit. "The reason you want to do that is you don't want someone to take out a loan in your name. It takes about two minutes. And if you want to go get a loan for a car or a house, you just press the blue button, and it unfreezes it. Then, just press the red button when you're done," Talcove said.Sign up for informed delivery with the U.S. Postal Service before a criminal does it for you."What they're doing is they're pretending you. And by filling out that form online, they get to see all your mail, and what they're doing is once they can see your mail, the checks that they're trying to move into your address, they can go pick them up before you do," Talcove said.Here is where to sign up. Get digital bank notifications."This is probably more focused on individuals that have elderly parents. In the digital world, with banking accounts and financial accounts, you need to get alerts. And, so, what you want to do is set up an alert for your parents or for elderly people where you're noticing if money is coming out of the checking account, if money's coming out of the brokerage account," Talcove said. "Whatever account that they use that money can go in and out of, you want to get an alert, and you also want to set up an alarm, like you can put, for example, any transaction over a certain amount that you need a phone call or you need to do a two-factor authentication."Find out if your county clerk or recorder's office has a property owner alert program."You want to do that because someone can very easily pretend that you and take your title, and by going to your clerk's office and setting up the alert, if someone tries to do that, you're going to get a heads up, and you can prevent yourself a whole bunch of pain," Talcove said. Unfortunately, not all counties offer this. For example, Placer County launched a notification program in 2022, while Sacramento County says it does not currently have one but is working on it.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter
A KCRA 3 investigation dug into the concerning threat of real estate fraud. Scammers are posing as property owners and selling their land from under them.
Haywood Talcove, the CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions Government Business, has some tips for reducing your risk of falling victim to fraudsters.
Contact Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to freeze your credit.
"The reason you want to do that is you don't want someone to take out a loan in your name. It takes about two minutes. And if you want to go get a loan for a car or a house, you just press the blue button, and it unfreezes it. Then, just press the red button when you're done," Talcove said.
Sign up for informed delivery with the U.S. Postal Service before a criminal does it for you.
"What they're doing is they're pretending [they're] you. And by filling out that form online, they get to see all your mail, and what they're doing is once they can see your mail, the checks that they're trying to move into your address, they can go pick them up before you do," Talcove said.
Here is where to sign up.
Get digital bank notifications.
"This is probably more focused on individuals that have elderly parents. In the digital world, with banking accounts and financial accounts, you need to get alerts. And, so, what you want to do is set up an alert for your parents or for elderly people where you're noticing if money is coming out of the checking account, if money's coming out of the brokerage account," Talcove said. "Whatever account that they use that money can go in and out of, you want to get an alert, and you also want to set up an alarm, like you can put, for example, any transaction over a certain amount that you need a phone call or you need to do a two-factor authentication."
Find out if your county clerk or recorder's office has a property owner alert program.
"You want to do that because someone can very easily pretend that [they're] you and take your title, and by going to your clerk's office and setting up the alert, if someone tries to do that, you're going to get a heads up, and you can prevent yourself a whole bunch of pain," Talcove said.
Unfortunately, not all counties offer this. For example, Placer County launched a notification program in 2022, while Sacramento County says it does not currently have one but is working on it.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter
