Wagoner Co. Residents Participate In Free Property Fraud Protection Program

There’s a free program to help people avoid becoming fraud victims.

The Wagoner County “Fraud Guard” program gives citizens alerts if someone files a deed on their property.

Patty Bourgeois, a Coweta realtor, said it was an easy decision to sign up for the free fraud protection program.

“If you can imagine, buying this house, with your hard earned money, and somebody slipping in there and deciding that they want it, and taking it. And you are completely unaware until it’s already done,” said Bourgeois.

Fraud Guard is done through the same program the county uses for land records.

It takes about five minutes to sign up and it will send an alert every time someone files a document on the property, with a link to the document.

The FBI said mortgage fraud cost property owners more than $200 million in 2020.

“For those who don’t have a mortgage on their property, if it’s a cash transaction, those people, with a fraudulent notary, can fraudulently file a deed,” said Lori Hendricks, the Wagoner County Clerk. “Those individuals can then go out and take a mortgage against your property, they get the cash, and you get the bill when it’s foreclosed on.”

Hendricks said you can also put the names of family members as search parameters.

“Particularly for older people, that have most likely paid off their mortgage, those individuals are more vulnerable, and people who own a lot of properties that they don’t occupy, if they have a lot of rental properties,” said Hendricks.

Bourgeois also encourages clients who are getting new homes in Wagoner County to register.

“We deal with people that fall in love with their houses,” said Bourgeois. “And it’s just heartbreaking, to see when they lose them. For something that they had no control over.”

On Thursday, Tulsa County announced it will be starting a similar program, where people can sign up for a free service and get notified when someone files something on their property.

What Should I Do To Prevent Being A Victim Of Property Fraud?

Home title fraud is when somebody transfers your home's title to his or her name, sometimes using a false identity, and takes out loans on the property. If you're asked to sign anything that transfers the title of your house to someone else, don't do it without talking to your attorney first. In order to prevent home title fraud, homeowners are urged to check in with your mortgage holder and the county recorder's office. Homeowners can also protect their property with monitoring tools, like the program offered by Wagoner County that's mentioned above.

You can click here to sign up for the free Wagoner County program.