Public Service Announcement - People can steal your house

You would think that a house, because it weighs many tons and is anchored to the ground, would be hard to steal. But according to the FBI, house stealing is a lot more common than you would imagine:

HOUSE STEALING: The Latest Scam on the Block

From the article:

What do you get when you combine two popular rackets these days—identity theft and mortgage fraud? A totally new kind of crime: house stealing.

Here’s how it generally works:

… The con artists start by picking out a house to steal—say, YOURS.

… Next, they assume your identity—getting a hold of your name and personal information (easy enough to do off the Internet) and using that to create fake IDs, social security cards, etc.

… Then, they go to an office supply store and purchase forms that transfer property.

… After forging your signature and using the fake IDs, they file these deeds with the proper authorities, and lo and behold, your house is now THEIRS.

Yikes!

See also: How Houses Work

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