Brown County now offers a new service to furnish notifications to persons of possible fraudulent activity in their name or involving their property.  The County has signed up with the Property Fraud Alert organization to provide this service.  If you subscribe to this free service, you will receive an alert any time a document is filed in the County Clerk’s office under your name, or property that you own.

Sharon Ferguson, Brown County Clerk, said her office “wants to inform Brown County residents of the Clerk’s online subscription service that allows the public to have their name/property monitored within the Brown County Clerk’s Office in order to track possible fraudulent activity.”  The subscriber has the option to be notified via e-mail or telephone call, in English or Spanish.

Protecting consumers’ information and real estate property are top priorities for Mrs. Ferguson and her staff.  “While Property Fraud Alert does not prevent fraud from happening, it provides an early warning system for property owners to take appropriate actions should they determine possible fraudulent activity has taken place.”  According to the FBI, property and mortgage fraud is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States.

The Property Fraud Alert service costs the County $10,000, and is funded by filing fees on property deeds.  You can sign up to monitor both personal and business names.  Once registered, you will be in the system unless you opt-out, no need to re-register periodically.  County records will be scanned at least once a week, and you will be notified of any transactions with your name, or your business name.  If the transaction looks suspicious, you can take immediate action to address the potential fraudulent activity.

You can register for this service by going to the County’s website:  browncountytx.gov, and click on the County Clerk page.  For more information, visit the County Clerk’s office in the Courthouse, or call them at 325-643-2594.