Complete Guide To Avoiding Home Title Theft

Home title theft is a form of real estate fraud that happens when someone transfers your property to them. Using fake IDs and forged signatures or other nefarious techniques, scammers can actually get the title of your home changed so they become the new legal owners.

The good news: You can protect against home title theft by taking some crucial steps to keep your identifying information secure. This guide will explain everything you need to know to do that, plus show you which of the best identity theft protection services help you monitor for home title theft.

What is home title theft?

Home title theft occurs when a criminal steals a property from its rightful owner by illegally obtaining the title to the property. They assume your identity and transfer your deed to someone else.

Often, house stealing occurs with rental or vacation homes because owners may not immediately notice when something has gone wrong with these types of properties and because they're vacant more often than a main home. However, it can also occur with single-family properties that people are living in as well.

How does home title theft happen?

There are several different ways that home title fraud can occur. One of the most common approaches is for a con artist to research who owns a property and then find the personal identifying information of that person. Here are a few ways that information can be used against you:

• Fraudulent refinancing: Someone can refinance your mortgage using your details without your knowledge. They can then take all the money and you're faced with the consequences.
• Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC): A scammer can access your current mortgage through a HELOC and steal your equity.
• Uninhabited homes: If you own a rental or summer home, the scammer can obtain forms that transfer property, fill them out with the stolen information, and then transfer the deed. The scammer will become the new "property owner," and can go ahead and sell the property to an unsuspecting buyer.
• Fake refinance assistance: Thieves may target buyers struggling to make payments and promise to help them refinance. Instead, they sell the house to straw buyers they create using stolen identities, taking the money borrowed for the homes and not paying back the loans at all.

Signs of home title theft

Since you're likely not checking your home title often, it can be hard to catch home title theft until you start seeing some consequences. Here's what you can look out for:

• Unexpected mail and bills, including tax or mortgage statements
• New mortgages or HELOCs show up on your credit report
• Your credit score suddenly drops
• Foreclosure or eviction notifications
• Strangers show up inquiring about buying or renting your house

Is title insurance or home title lock insurance necessary?

Title insurance can also help protect you from title thieves. When ownership of a property is transferred, you can buy a title insurance policy to protect against claims against the home. If the previous owner had liens or there was some other defect with the title such as a forged deed, title insurance will cover your losses. This could be helpful to protect those who might purchase a home with a stolen property title.

Typically, the cost of title insurance is paid up front at your real estate closing and the policy is usually priced between 0.5% and 1.0% of the home's sale price.

Title lock insurance is also available and it protects against title fraud. Title lock insurance monitors for changes to the deed to your home and alerts you if the legal ownership is changed so you can immediately become aware if someone has stolen your home's title. You may not need this type of coverage as you can conduct a search of your deed yourself for free.

How to avoid title fraud

The best way to avoid title fraud is to protect your personal information. And you can employ different techniques for doing that including the following five strategies.

1. Monitor your credit

Keep tabs on your credit report. If you notice any new inquiries in your credit history that you didn't request, it could suggest someone is applying for loans, mortgages, or a home equity line of credit (HELOC) in your name. You can also see if there are any judgments against you, such as liens on your property, or if an alternative name shows up under your Social Security number. 

You can obtain a free copy of your report from AnnualCreditReport.com for all three credit bureaus. But if you need to check your credit report more than once a year, using an identity theft protection service with credit monitoring is your best bet. Here are some of our recommendations: 

• Aura: Aura is our top recommended ID theft protection and it comes with bonus features like parental controls, antivirus, and a VPN. It also provides fraud alerts at a much faster rate than its competitors, so you can always remain on top of any suspicious activity. 

  Get Aura | Read Our Aura Review

• Norton LifeLock: LifeLock comes packed with features to help protect your identity and recover it in case of fraud. Along with monitoring your home title, LifeLock keeps tabs on your utility bills, credit cards, investment accounts, and more.

  Get LifeLock | Read Our LifeLock Review

• OmniWatch: For credit monitoring, OmniWatch has you covered. If any suspicious changes are detected, it will immediately alert you so you can take action. It also offers $2 million in identity theft insurance in case of identity theft. 

  Get Identity Guard | Read Our Identity Guard Review

2. Monitor your bills and mail

Monitoring your bills can also help you to identify when your personal information may have fallen into the wrong hands. If there are charges you do not recognize, if your address is changed, or if a bill does not come as expected (potentially because it has been redirected), these are warning signs that could indicate you've been a victim of identity theft. You should also keep an eye out for letters about liens on your house or foreclosure notices. 

3. Protect your personal information

Protecting your personal information can also help you avoid home title theft. If scammers cannot obtain your full name and Social Security number or other identifying details, they cannot create forms for a fraudulent title transfer.

4. Follow safe internet practices

Finally, it is important to stay safe online as many people unlawfully obtain personal information by using the internet. To protect your identity against cybercrimes, you can take steps including the following:

• Use a secure password. You don't want thieves to be able to gain access to your accounts, which can happen if your password is easy to guess. Get a password manager if you aren't sure how to create and remember secure passwords.   
  
• Use multi-factor authentication when available. This requires you to provide two forms of authentication before signing into accounts. For example, you may have to enter your password and also input a code that is sent to your cell phone.
• Be careful about which websites you provide information to. Don't click on links that request information as they could be phishing sites and always check that you are using a secure site (labeled https rather than just http) before providing personal details.

FAQs

Bottom line

Your home is a valuable asset and you don't want to risk becoming a victim of home title theft. By taking some steps to keep your information safe, you can protect your property and also avoid other problems that scammers could cause in your financial life.

If you believe you're a victim of identity theft, you should take appropriate steps and alert relevant agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the FBI, then contact the mortgage lender, and possibly even freeze your credit. We also recommend signing up for an identity monitoring service like Aura.