The FBI’s Internet Crime Report 2022 reports that Florida ranks #2 in the overall state statistics for internet crimes with over 42,000 victims and estimated losses of over $844,000,000. Real estate fraud is one of the many categories analyzed in this report as it is a widespread crime in Florida and throughout the nation.
Property fraud occurs when someone or a business entity files a fraudulent deed or other official documents in the conveyance of real property. The fraudulent deed generally contains a forged signature on your behalf giving the property to the new owner with full ownership and rights. The general purpose of fraudulent documents and crime is to steal your home or land and use it for financial gain.
There is a new Florida Law which provides recourse of corrective action of quite title actions, establishes criminal charges for the person convicted of the crime and provides a notification system through the clerk’s office of document filings.
The new law “prescribes the form for a quitclaim deed. Modifies Florida law relating to quiet title actions to expressly state that a quiet title action may be based on a title fraud allegation; require the clerks to provide a simplified form for the filing of such action; entitle a petitioner bringing such action to expedited summary procedure timeframes; and require a court hearing such action to quiet title in and award a prevailing plaintiff the same title and rights to the land that the plaintiff enjoyed before the title fraud.The new law also “modifies requirements to record instruments affecting real property.”
This new law also requires “the clerk of the circuit court to create, maintain, and operate a free recording notification service on or before July 1, 2024, to provide property owners who register for the service with early notice that a land record, such as a deed, has been filed on their property.”
It also creates a pilot program “the Title Fraud Prevention Through Identity Verification Pilot Program, in which the Lee County, Florida, clerk may require the production of a government-issued photographic identification card in connection with the filing of a deed or other qualifying instrument in specified circumstances.” The results of the pilot program will be reported in December of 2025 to the Governor, The President of the Senate, and The Speaker of the House. After the results have been considered and debated the government-issued photographic identification card requirement could be implemented for all clerks.
This is a vicious and malicious crime, please help protect yourself by signing up for the newly implemented clerk notification system. Additional measures you can take are to keep track of your mail, monitor all three credit reports, safeguard your personal information, and monitor your property. These measures are safeguards and are not a guarantee you are completely protected from such a crime. However, if you find yourself a victim of real property fraud, call your local law enforcement, contact all 3 credit reporting agencies, close unauthorized accounts, contact your mortgage holder and contact your attorney.
We must all stay informed of the fast-paced changing times in our world and work together to disseminate information to help keep our community and its citizens safe. Being informed and working together will have the largest impact on our community. I will leave you with that thought and that concludes this week’s The Straight Truth With Mary Ann Hutton.