You Don't Even See The Bad Guys Anymore By Rhonda Hoffman At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

If you have ever been victim of a crime you will know how violated you feel knowing that someone, usually someone you don’t even know, has taken advantage of you. Not only have they robbed you of your possessions, but also they took away your sense of security and seriously compromised your ability to trust. It’s one thing to have your shoes stolen at the swimming pool and quite another to have your home stolen out from under you. It’s not as far fetched as it sound. That is what is happening more and more to North American homeowners. It is called Title or Mortgage Fraud and is increasing at an alarming rate to the tune of an estimated $1.5 billion in Canada.

Today’s criminals are getting smarter and smarter knowing that they don’t have to hold someone up in the back alley anymore to make a buck because the big money is in mortgage fraud. The way it works is that when you own a home your bank gives you the money to buy it and registers their mortgage against it. In the life of that loan you may choose to refinance it as it’s value increases and take that money for a home improvement loan or a holiday in Hawaii if you want. If someone forges your signature at the bank they could refinance your home and take off with the money leaving you to pay the costs of defending your claim to the home.

Similarly, someone could transfer title out of your name (as if you sold it to them) and take out another mortgage on your home. You would still have to repay the mortgage, reclaim your ownership and pay all of the costs involved or lose your home. Although it sounds incredulous to us honest folks that this is going on, it is happening with alarming increase. After four years of investigating, the Law Society of British Columbia approved payments to victims of a multi-million dollar fraud case that involved a Vancouver lawyer. Payments of $32.5 million dollars had to be made to hundreds of victims. There was an Alberta man that went to pay his property taxes only to be told by the bank that he no longer owned the property. Title had been transferred out of his name and the property re-mortgaged for $110,000.

In Ontario the bank advised a woman that she was three months in arrears on the mortgage for a property she didn’t own. She later found out that two other properties had been fraudulently mortgaged in her name, which meant she was responsible for payments on $400,000 in mortgages! When there is a discrepancy on your credit card you have the option of challenging it and having it investigated. This is not the case in mortgage fraud as the onus is on you as the owner to prove deceit.

These people had to work hard to repair their credit rating, reclaim their identities and incur tens of thousands of costs to do so. Aside from the financial pressure to make things right, the mental anguish would be almost unbearable.

Don’t subscribe to the Ostrich Syndrome and think it will never happen to you. First Canadian Title and the Real Estate Council of Alberta estimate that there were about $275 million in fraudulent mortgage loans in Alberta in the 2001-2002 fiscal year based on investigated transactions. These were average people in average cities who had no idea that their identities and properties were been violated. Be smart and protect yourself and your financial future by taking out title insurance that is now available on already owned properties. When you consider the peace of mind you will have it is money well spent.

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