Macoupin County Clerk Pete Duncan announced a new online service available to residents that tracks potential fraudulent activity.  The service called Property Fraud Guard allows residents to register their name, name of their organization or property number with the Recorder’s Office in order to monitor potential fraudulent activity. Once registered with this service, subscribers will receive a notification via email in the event that a document is recorded involving their name or property.

“Over the last two years, one of the most requested services for my office to provide was a fraud alert system in the Recorder’s office,” Duncan said. “Today, I’m launching that service to help provide some ease of mind when it comes to potential fraud in Macoupin County.”

Threat of mortgage fraud and identity theft crime continues to rise and too often victims of these types of fraudulent activities are unaware their homes or identify have been stolen.  While the Property Fraud Guard does not prevent fraud from happening, it does provide an early warning system for property owners to take appropriate action if a fraudulent activity has taken place.

Implementing this service will provide home owners an early detection system for potential fraud. In most instances the alerts will be regarding legitimate documents that pertain to the buying and selling of property. If a person is concerned about any documentation filed, the alert will contain information for accessing that information.

“Providing better, smarter government service has always been one of my top priorities,” Duncan said. “Listening to the folks who requested this service made it clear the demand from Macoupin taxpayers was there. My previous concerns were on the cost of the service. However, we were able to put in place this system using no taxpayer dollars, only fees collected by documents recorded. Since I believe many people across the County have concerns about being the victim of this kind of fraud, using the fees they pay on recording to pay for a fraud alert seemed right.”

Anyone wishing to sign up for the alert can visit www.macoupincountyclerk.com and select ‘Property Fraud Guard’ under the ‘Recorder’s Office’ tab at the top of the page. While there is no cost to the service, subscribers will need to provide an email address for alerts to be emailed to. Anyone needing assistance or having questions can call (217) 854-3214 ext 708.