Alerts can protect homeowners from fraud

MEDINA — Imagine the absolute horror a homeowner would feel if he or she received a foreclosure notice in the mail. It would feel even worse if one didn't open the loan that is being foreclosed on, but it happens more than people realize. Medina County Recorder Linda Hoffman is attempting to protect homeowners by using property fraud alerts. She urges all county residents to take advantage of a free service her office is offering to help protect against property fraud. Residents can sign up through the recorder's website to receive Property Fraud Alerts, an automated database that monitors activity involving land records filed in the Medina County Recorder's Office. The Property Fraud Alert system notifies individuals when transactions involving their property are recorded in the Medina County Recorder's Office. Participants in the program can choose to receive their alerts via email, text or phone calls. Visit propertyfraudalert.com or call the recorder's office at (330) 725-9782 for assistance. Hoffman said it started during the mortgage crisis in 2008-10, when opportunists took fraudulent documents of false proof of ownership and secured loans from lending institutions in someone else's name. It's being called one of the fastest growing white-collar crimes. Hoffman said she believes it's well worth the two minutes it takes to enroll in the program. Whenever there's a transaction filed with the recorder's office involving the homeowner, they are notified within days. "Without the alert, they might not learn for months or years later and there's a lien on the home they didn't know about," Hoffman said. "Or if someone defaults on a mortgage, and (a bank or lending institution) files action against the homeowner and that's not their signature on the loan document." Most times when the homeowners get an alert, it's for a refinancing or if they are selling the home. If it's not legitimate, the homeowner will need to contact law enforcement. "We don't know if it's legitimate or not," Hoffman said. Since the beginning of 2021, Hoffman said more than 150 alerts have been sent out. There are now 934 homeowners signed up for the free alerts. "I expect that number will increase," Hoffman said. She said former Recorder Colleen Swedyk, now a county commissioner, started the program in 2017. Contact reporter Bob Finnan at (330) 721-4049 or rfinnan@medina-gazette.com.