Resolve to Protect your Home in the New Year

By Karen Yarbrough, Cook County Recorder of Deeds

It’s that time of year again, when we resolve to change our habits in the New Year to better our lives. Though most of us promise to eat less, exercise more, and be better people, many find that after a few weeks, we are back to our old ways.

I would like to put two ideas into your head for resolutions that are easy to stick with, and will give you a year’s worth of peace of mind. First, check your credit report for free every 4 months at annualcreditreport.com, and second, check your home’s chain of title for free at my website, CookRecorder.com.

Most aren’t aware of how easy it is for a fraudster to use free information about your home found easily online and create a fake document transferring your property. The fake documents these criminals bring to our office look real and because we are not authorized to validate legal claims, these documents must be accepted. This is why our office has created another line of defense for property owners.

We call it our FREE Property Fraud Alert. How it works is simple. Once registered, property owners are given an alert either by e-mail or by phone any time a document is recorded against their property. The alert allows those receiving it to know instantly if someone has filed any documents that could affect their properties. If the filings are not legitimate, they can take immediate action to prevent any damage.

With the recent data breach at Target stores in the news, many are starting the New Year with a financial headache. Imagine that instead of finding a few hundred dollars in fraudulent charges, you find that a scammer transferred your home into their name and took out a loan.

This New Year, make a resolution to protect your biggest financial asset by enrolling in our FREE Property Fraud Alert program. To learn more or signup online, visit our website: http://cookrecorder.com/.