WASHINGTON CO. PROPERTY OWNERS REMINDED OF FREE FRAUD ALERT PROGRAM

  

The Washington County Clerk’s Office is reminding property owners about a free resource available to them to help protect against possible property fraud.

County Clerk Beth Rothermel said during Wednesday’s county commissioners meeting that the fraud alert program is still available through the county’s partnership with Edoc Technologies. 

The service issues a notice to registered users when a document with their registered name on it, like a deed, mortgage, lien or other land record, is put into the county’s official public records.  The notification goes out within 24 hours of the document’s recording via the user’s preferred contact method, and is intended to inform property owners as soon as possible if any documents have been falsely recorded. 

According to Rothermel, as of Wednesday, there are approximately 1,111 names signed up through the program.  That total includes variations of names – for example, someone by the name of William John Smith could enter that full name, as well as William J. Smith, Bill Smith, Bill J. Smith, etc.  Users are encouraged to enter as many variations of their name as possible, as the more names that are registered, the better the chance of the system detecting a document. 

Rothermel reiterated that the program is free to use and that the information entered stays with the county.

The program is available through the county’s website, www.co.washington.tx.us.  It is open to individuals and businesses, but is specific to Washington County.