What is property title Fraud and how does it work?
Home title fraud is an involuntary transfer of property ownership out of the name of the owner by criminal deception or trickery without the knowledge or consent of the owner.
It takes only minutes
For criminals to obtain a copy of your property’s last deed, create a new deed transferring your property to a criminal actor, forge your signature on the deed, and record the fraudulent deed. It then appears that the criminal now owns your property.
Title crime is rising fast
Home Title and Mortgage Fraud is the fastest growing white collar crime in the USA. Though title fraud can also be perpetrated by foreign actors resulting in your property title being transferred into the name of criminal actors on the dark web.
You won't know until it's to late
This is a silent crime, you may not know until you get calls on late mortgage payments or foreclosure notices, and with online access to almost all title documents, cyber criminals target US homes.
What can the Fraudster do once they have your title?
- Once a thief transfers your property title to a criminal actor, they can take out a mortgage, cashing out the equity in your property and the thief walks away with you’re your money. On top of that, they won’t pay the new mortgage, meaning you’ll face foreclosure if you don’t pay it.
- If they target an empty home – like unoccupied vacation homes or rental properties – they can use forged deed to sell the home and profit without you knowing.
- Once a property title is fraudulently transferred out of the owner’s name, the fraudster can borrow money using the property as collateral for the loan without the owner’s knowledge.
Why do I need Sandbox? If the title to your is fraudulently transferred to a criminal actor and it goes undetected, your property could be mortgaged without your consent or transferred to unsuspecting third party resulting in foreclosure, loss of your property, or expensive legal bills.
Title fraud can cause you delays in sale of your property, inability to refinance your home, foreclosure of mortgages and liens you didn’t create and legal fees and court costs incurred to resolve the issues.
Start your membership. Enroll in minutes.
- Monthly
- Yearly
Home Title Monitoring
We monitor your home title so you have the peace of mind that you have not been victimized by title fraudsters.
$399.99/yr
What is Sandbox?
It is a company of experienced real estate professionals who are committed to protecting your property title from undetected fraudulent title transfers.
How Does Sandbox Work?
We monitor the title transfer records related to your property. When a transfer is detected, we notify you immediately. Early detection of a fraudulent property transfer allows action to be taken before the criminal actor can in most cases cause serious damage.
Upon detection of any suspicious activity linked to your home title, Sandbox will send you an alert notification. Then our team of real estate professionals will provide you assistance in taking the necessary steps to deter further criminal activity on your property title and get your property title cleared of fraudulent documents.
You will receive monthly email reports of all activity effecting your home title status, no login required
Reimbursement statement: In the event it is necessary to take court action to resolve a fraudulent transfer of your property title, Sandbox will pay up to $50,000.00 in legal fees and court costs to take the case to a trial.
We monitor your home title so you have the peace of mind that you have not been victimized by title fraudsters.
Protects against the fastest growing white collar crime in real estate
Sandbox’s 24/7 title monitoring eliminates any cyber threats from going undetected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does property title fraud go undetected?
Anyone who doesn’t monitor their property title will not know that they are a victim of home title fraud for months if not years. By the time the owner discovers that they are a victim of title fraud it may be too late to resolve the problem without substantial cost and hardship.
Make no mistake: Home title fraud is serious. The longer a fraudulent transfer goes undetected the more damage a fraudster can do to the property owner, a victim can lose their home as a result of this crime. And getting the problem remedied can be difficult and quite costly though early detection of the fraudulent transfer by the Sandbox system can limit or even eliminate harm to the property owner.
This is a silent crime, you may not know until you get calls on late mortgage payments or foreclosure notices
What could happen if you are a victim of property title fraud?
Title fraud can cause you delays in sale of your property, inability to refinance your home, foreclosure of mortgages and liens you didn’t create and legal fees and court costs incurred to resolve the issues.
Also, victims of title theft and house-stealing can suffer damage to their credit that can take a long time to fix.
Make no mistake: Home title fraud is serious. The longer a fraudulent transfer goes undetected the more damage a fraudster can do to the property owner, a victim can lose their home as a result of this crime. And getting the problem remedied can be difficult and quite costly though early detection of the fraudulent transfer by the Sandbox system can limit or even eliminate harm to the property owner.
Who is susceptible to property title fraud?
New homeowners, existing homeowners, old and young - no matter who you are, how old, or how much or little experience you have with purchasing a home, you could be at risk
If they target an empty home – like unoccupied vacation homes or rental properties – they can use forged deed to sell the home and profit without you knowing.
Anyone who doesn’t monitor their property title will not know that they are a victim of home title fraud for months if not years. By the time the owner discovers that they are a victim of title fraud it may be too late to resolve the problem without substantial cost and hardship.
Does title insurance or homeowner’s insurance cover me against loss from property title fraud?
Simply, no. Title insurance is required by lenders to ensure that when you bought your property you have a clean title. Title insurance only protects you up to the day you closed or completed escrow and before, it does not cover future events. Your title is not insured going forward and you will not have help from the title insurance company to address a fraudulent transfer of your property title after you own the property.
Property title transfer fraud happens once you own the title to the property when a criminal actor transfers the title out of your name and into the name of a criminal actor. This type of fraud occurs after you own the property, so is not covered by the title insurance policy that you purchased when you bought the property.