Property Owner’s Protection Alert (POPA)
POPA Phone Number: (559) 600-5317
Office of the Fresno County Assessor -Recorder
October 22, 2024
1 Executive Summary
(POPA)
The FBI reports that Title Theft is one of the fastest growing cyber-crimes in America.
Your Assessor-Recorder is stepping up to the plate to be the crime stopper to protect your property.
Known as deed fraud or home title theft, the scheme involves forging documents to record a phony transfer of property ownership. Criminals can then sell the home, take out a mortgage on it, or even rent it out to tenants to turn a profit.
• Zina Thomas, a 60-year-old director of United Community Housing Coalition in Detroit, Michigan, is said to have stolen more than 30 homes by forging Quitclaim Deeds, transferring the properties to fictitious entities, and then selling them to innocent third parties. • An elderly homeowner was evicted from her own house, with her equity wiped out, after crooks forged foreclosure documents.
• The FBI’s 2023 Internet Crime Report tracked 9,521 complaints of real estate and rental fraud with losses totaling more than $145 million.
• Deed fraud often involves QUITCLAIM DEEDS, which are simple, one-page legal documents that transfer ownership without any guarantees about the property. Their common legitimate use is to pass ownership between family members.
• Twenty years ago, it wasn’t easy to forge documents. Today, every computer has the technology to create a believable forgery, because you can buy a fake notary stamp online. • Unfortunately, these crooks target some of our most financially vulnerable citizens. 2 Today, there are only four Counties in California [San Diego, LA, Stanislaus and Fresno] that automatically send emails to alert property owners when a document is recorded with their name and/or parcel number. There are also private companies, such as Life Lock and others, that use our data to provide the same services, except they are charging a handsome fee. Our service is Free.
We cannot prevent crime from happening, but if you sign up with POPA, my team will immediately alert you by email sending a copy of what was filed against your Property Title. At that point you can contact the Real Estate Fraud Unit of the District Attorney to report the crime, before a crook mortgages and/or sells your property.
The only true protection against title theft is buying a specific type of policy known as Homeowner’s Policy of Title Insurance. (Not to be confused with a similarly named Owner’s Policy of Title Insurance that we all get when we buy a house a the close of escrow from the Title company). All big title insurances now offer this policy.
My office has set up checks and balances to verify the validity of the Notary Public name, Identification Number, and license status, directly with the office of the California Secretary of State.
Executive Summary - Continued
3 What is Property Owner’s Protection Alert?
• Property Owner’s Protection Alert (POPA) is a free notification service offered by the Assessor-Recorder that emails Fresno County residents when a document is recorded with their name or Assessor parcel number (APN).
• The Assessor-Recorder provides POPA free of charge as a valuable courtesy to all Fresno County residents who subscribe to the notification service. • POPA is a significant step forward to protecting Fresno County property owners from title fraud and unwarranted liens.
• The Fresno County Recorder’s Office has partnered with the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office to fight real estate fraud.
4 How to Sign Up
1. Go to the Recorder Website and Click Property Owner’s Protection Alert (Slide 6)
2. Property Owner’s Protection Alert Self Service Page (Slide 7)
3. Create An Account (Slide 8)
4. Click Account Activation Email Link (Slide 9)
5. Activate Your Account (Slide 10)
6. System Takes You to Fresno County Recorder’s Office Self-Service website (Slide 11)
7. Subscribe to Property Owner’s Protection Alert (Slide 12)
8. Create Property Owner’s Protection Alerts (Slide 13)
9. Receive Property Owner’s Protection Alert Subscription Confirmation (Slide 14)
10.Email Alert Sample (Slide 15)
11.Document Sample (Slide 16 and 17)
5 Select Property Owner’s Protection Alert on the
Fresno County Recorder’s Office website
1. Go to https://www.fresnocountyca.gov/Departments/Recorder
2. Select the Property Owner’s Protection Alert Icon
3. Use the Click here to sign up link.
6 Property Owner’s Protection Alert
Self Service Page
1. Read Disclaimer.
2. Check the “I’m not a robot” box.
3. Click “I Accept”.
4. Click “Sign Up” to create an account.
7 Create Account
1. Create a User ID.
Examples: john1990, Fresno_-1.5,
jsmith.
User ID must contain only A-Z, a-z,
0-9, . - _
2. Add your email address.
3. Create a password. It must be eight
characters. Password must contain
numbers and letters.
4. Confirm password.
5. Enter Profile Information.
6. Click on I’m not a robot.
7. Submit.
8. Account Activation email will be
sent to your email address.
8 Account Activation Email
9 Activate Your Account
1. Go to your email to verify your
Property Owner’s Protection Alert
account.
2. Retrieve the Property Owner’s
Alert Subscription Notification
email. See example
3. Follow the link on the email.
4. The link will take you back to the
Fresno County Self Service
website.
5. This step Activates your account.
10 Fresno County Recorder’s Office
Self-Service Website.
1. Select Property Owner’s
Protection Alert.
2. Login.
11 Subscribe to Property Owner’s Protection Alert
12 Create Property Owner’s Protection Alerts
1. Create Property Owner’s Protection Alerts.
2. Select the drop box arrow.
1. Individual – Names of Property Owner
by Last Name, First Middle Name
Example: Smith, John Henry
2. Business – Name of the business.
3. Assessor Parcel Number – APN
Example: 123-45-678
3. Enter names or APN
4. Add up to ten Alerts.
5. Click on Add Alert.
6. Save.
13 Property Owner’s Protection Alert Subscription Confirmation
1. Receive Property Owner’s Protection Alert
confirmation email.
2. View Property Owner’s Protection Alert(s)
created.
3. Option to unsubscribe.
14 Email Alert Sample
1. Alert Name
Example: Gold
2. Document Number
3. Recording Date
4. Document Type
5. Grantor & Grantee Name
15 Document Sample
Quit Claim Deed
16 Document Sample
Trust Transfer Deed
17