Metro Real Estate Scam Makes Its Way To Stephens County
In the past two years, The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center has been issuing warnings regarding real estate and rental scams, with losses to those scams reaching nearly $400 million annually across the nation.
According to FBI officials, scammers are plotting elaborate schemes to dupe potential buyers, property owners and real estate professionals, with one of the most common schemes involving vacant land plots
According to the National Association of REALTORS, scammers comb through public records and flag vacant parcels of land and properties that don’t have a mortgage or other lien. Most often, vacant lots and investment, vacation or rental properties that are not occupied by the owner are targeted. The scammer will then pose as the owner and contact a real estate agent to list the property for sale with the intent of pocketing the sales proceeds.
These scammers typically say they cannot personally meet with either the listing agent or buyer of the property because they either live in another state or abroad or are traveling.
These so-called “title pirates” are now targeting more rural properties, and have even been found to be operating in Stephens County. WNEG News spoke yesterday with Stephens County Sheriff Rusty Fulbright, who reported that he has heard reports of this scam being perpetuated in Stephens County.
WNEG also spoke with local real estate agent Michelle Ivester, owner and broker at Talan Properties LLC, who dealt with one of these scam attempts recently.
She said that not only property owners need to be aware, but that those looking to purchase, or even rent properties, need to do their due diligence to make sure the people they are talking to are actually the owners of the property for sale or rent.
Both Ivester and Stephens County Clerk of Superior Court Tim Quick talked about a free service offered where property owners can sign up to be notified any time there is any attempt made to transfer property .
The Filing Activity Notification System, or FANS, is designed to help homeowners monitor their property titles and get notified about any new filings related to their land, like deed transfers or mortgages.
Property owners can access and sign up for FANS notifications on the Georgia Secretary of State’s website at fans.gsccca.org; once registered, the property owner will receive email or text alerts whenever a relevant document is filed concerning their property. Assistance in signing up for the program is also available at the Stephens County Clerk of Courts office, located in the Government Building, 70 N. Alexander Street in downtown Toccoa.
Quick and Ivester also explained that a new law that went into effect on Jan. 1 helps to prevent this type of fraud.
House Bill 1292 went into effect on January 1, 2025, requiring real estate documents to be filed electronically by self-filers. The law also includes other protections against property theft and fraudulent deeds. Previously, IDs were not required when filing a deed in a clerk’s office. Proof of ownership was also not required, meaning anyone can file a deed on any property. Now, Quick says, there is an electronic process where all self-filers will now be required to electronically file real estate documents, including ID verification, with the recording of several facial images, matched against approved government identification and kept on record with the transaction. HB 1292 also increases penalties in proven forged-deed cases.
Filers can upload their ID at efile.gsccca.org and follow the prompts to complete the verification process, which includes photographic verification. “There are no exceptions,” officials said, adding that UCC documents, except those filed on the real estate records, will not require ID verification when eFiled.
The Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority (GSCCCA) system maintains the account holder status after verification is complete. The GSCCCA eFiling portal is also the only portal through which real estate documents can be eFiled.
Groups that may still file via paper include:
- Federally insured banks or credit unions
- Georgia-licensed attorneys
- Mortgage lenders, (Georgia licensed or exempt)
- Mortgage servicers, (as such term is defined in 12 C.F.R. Section 1024.2)
- Georgia -licensed surveyors
- Georgia-licensed Title insurance companies
- Georgia-licensed real estate brokers or salespersons
- Any public official performing their official duties
“However, if a filer from one of the eight groups listed above chooses to eFile,” officials said, “they must have their identity verified, just as self-filers.”
Real Estate Recording Rules for the State of Georgia can be found at www.gsccca.org/docs/efiling-documents/ gsccca_ georgia_ real_ estate_ erecording_ rules_ new.pdf.
Ivester also stressed that involving a real estate attorney in any real estate transaction is also an important safeguard against fraudulent activity.