Officials Urge Homeowners to Sign Up for Deed Fraud Alerts

The Clay County Prosecutor’s Office is warning residents that property deed scams are increasing and can be used to target a homeowner’s equity by filing fraudulent paperwork. In response, the Clay County Recorder of Deeds is encouraging property owners to enroll in Deed Watch, a free fraud alert service that monitors activity recorded under selected names.

To sign up, residents can register with a valid email address at deedwatch.com, select Clay County and enter the verification code sent to their email. Users can then add variations of their own name, a spouse’s name or any other name they want to monitor for recorded documents.

When a document is recorded under one of those selected names, the service sends an instant email alert so the property owner can quickly verify whether the transaction is legitimate. Officials emphasized that Deed Watch is only an alert and monitoring service and does not stop documents from being recorded, confirm whether a filing is legal or replace advice from an attorney.

Officials said the signup process takes about five minutes. Property owners with questions can contact the Clay County Recorder of Deeds at 816-407-3550.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story.