County Offers Fraud Monitoring Service

Carey Petersilka, Door County Register of Deeds, wants to inform residents of a new free online subscription service that allows the public to have their name/property monitored within the Register of Deeds office in order to track possible fraudulent activity. Subscribers will be notified when the name they have submitted is used in any recording activities within the office. When subscribing to this free service, the subscriber will have the option to choose one of the following notification methods – email or telephone call. With the recent data breach of the national credit bureau, Equifax, approximately 143 million U.S. consumers could be affected. Those affected could have their personal information up for grabs by cyber criminals. This also opens up the opportunity for real estate title fraud. According to the FBI, property and mortgage fraud is the fastest growing white-collar crime. Protecting consumer information and real estate property are top priorities for Register of Deeds Carey Petersilka and her staff. “The threat of mortgage fraud and identity theft crimes continue to rise, and all too often victims of these types of fraudulent activities are unaware their homes or identity have been stolen,” Petersilka said. While Property Fraud Alert does not prevent fraud from happening, it provides an early warning system for property owners to take appropriate actions should they determine possible fraudulent activity has taken place. Property Fraud Alert is now available by subscription on the web at PropertyFraudAlert.com, and choose Door County; call 800.728.3858 or email [email protected].