Fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated with each new scam. Houghton County Clerk Jennifer Kelly and Sheriff Josh Saaranen want people to know what local leaders are doing to combat property fraud.
Several years ago, Kelly partnered Houghton County with Fidler, a fraud alert program company that works with municipalities to organize systems that can alert individuals and officials to fraud. The program is free for residents.
Saaranen says fraud has become a more common crime the department investigates. Most often, Kelly says, these crimes occur without anyone knowing, with criminals falsifying documents to gain access to an individual’s property. Both say it’s more important than ever for those living in rural areas to keep track of how their names are used.
Without diligent work by an individual, it is difficult to track property fraud without contacting law enforcement for an investigation or financial institutions to confirm information.
“So I started this program several years ago when I read up about it and I heard about scams,” Kelly said. “Sometimes I would hear from someone who maybe was going to do a banking transaction and found out that somebody had fraudulently put a lien on them. And so then I direct them usually to the bank or to an attorney or whoever they need to deal with.”
Saaranen has registered for the property fraud alert program.
“I had my alert with my name attached to it immediately when the paperwork was filed even quicker than anticipated,” Saaranen said. “So from a personal standpoint, I felt very comfortable knowing that my name is protected in that regard. And then from a law enforcement perspective, it’s very important that we can investigate as quickly as possible when these alerts happen.”
After people don’t know if a document has been submitted to a register of deeds office, a case of fraud can go unnoticed for several months. With program alerts sent to individuals quickly when their name appears on documents submitted to the register of deeds office, his office can help someone verify information or start an investigation if necessary.
Houghton County has investigated multiple cases of property fraud in recent years, including a case involving an inmate in an Oakland County jail.
“The longer these go undetected, if somebody were to put a lien on your property and you didn’t know about it for two years, that’s gonna really be a hard investigation for us to handle,” Saaranen said. “And it would probably take a lot of work and potential attorney fees to try to clear that up.”
The property fraud alert program can also help protect renters. Kelly explains that fraudsters may use a renter’s information to falsify documents in order to complete a separate property scam.
“So whether you are a young person just starting out with buying your first home to our senior citizens and nursing homes, to people owning vacant land in Houghton County, we want every one of those people to sign up and be protected,” Kelly said.
Property fraud can take many forms. Saaranen adds the sheriff’s department has responded to reports of a person identifying as an official agent appearing at someone’s front door in recent weeks.
Learn more about fraud alert programs in Houghton County online.
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