The County Recorder is taking steps to mitigate fraudulent real estate transfers with a program that notifies property owners when documents have been filed against their property.

The fraud happens when a fraudulent deed is recorded against a property. In many cases, the owner may not even be aware that a deed was recorded changing ownership of their property. Under the new program, property owners or former property owners will be notified by letter or electronically about a recent filing with the Recorder’s Office. 

Fraud Notify Protection Service

Fraud happens when a fraudulent deed is recorded against a property. The falsified documents allows scammers to sell the property, take out a mortgage or home repair loan, or use your property for other financial gain. In many cases, the owner may not even be aware that a deed was recorded changing ownership of their property.  

The Recorders Department is pleased to announce the implementation of Fraud Guard, a free, automatic, and customizable property fraud alert service which is designed to protect county residents. Residents now have the ability to subscribe to the automatic real time fraud notifications.

The steps to sign up are listed below:

1. Visit https://sanbenitocountyca-web.tylerhost.net/web/fraudGuard/account – Register for an account.
2. You will then receive an activation email to confirm your registration.
3. Register for a Grantor Name (Individual and Business) and Parcel ID (without the dashes). Multiple alerts may be set up.
4. Fraud Notify is scheduled to send notifications at 6 PM nightly and will only send out an email if there is an alert.

If you are interested in receiving an email with the registration link, please give us a call at 831-636-4029 or email us at cclerk@cosb.us.