Georgia Property Fraud Watch

How this works

1. Register with FANS. The Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority runs a free service called the Filing Activity Notification System (FANS). You register your name, and it emails or texts you when a filing is indexed under that name in any of Georgia's 159 counties.
2. Set Google Alerts. FANS watches court filings. Google Alerts watch the web — listings, ads, and pages using your address — which is where a fraudster often shops a property first.
3. Renew every year. FANS requests expire after one year unless you renew them by logging in — so renew before the year is up, and check your alerts are still running.
4. Know what to do if you get an alert. An alert may concern a legitimate filing or another person with the same name. This tool shows you how to tell, and what to do when one is not.
5. Already own? Get a baseline. If you have owned the property for a while, or something seems off, ask a real estate closing office whether — and at what cost — they can run a title exam for you, to find out what is already on record. If you are buying, your closing already includes a title exam — that is your baseline.

Start with your property

Enter the names and address exactly as they appear on your deed, if you know them. To build a plan you need two things: whether you are buying or already own (below), and at least one name to register in FANS — a first and last name — or a property address. Everything else is optional and adds variations.

Preparing this for a client or family member? Fill in their details, and add your name under "Prepared by" at the bottom — it will appear on the finished document.

How is this property owned? Pick one — the form shows only the fields for that kind of ownership.

Property address

About this property (check anything that applies — it tailors your checklist)

When are you using this tool? (required — the baseline step depends on it)

Your entries are saved in this browser so you can come back to them.

Your plan

Step 1 — Register with FANS (free)

Go to fans.gsccca.org, enter your email or mobile number, and use the one-time code they send — there is no password to create. Then agree to the terms. FANS requires at least one name registration — you must register by name before you can add address or document notifications. FANS offers three kinds of notification, and you may register all three. None of them covers everything.

• Name. Register each human name as indexed. FANS matches first names by starts-with and last names exactly as entered. Pair the first name with each last name below — one notification request per pair, pairing each first name only with its own last names. A deed indexed under one version of a name will not trigger an alert registered under another. Name notifications only cover human names; company, entity, and trust names are not covered on their own.
• Address. Add the property address to watch filings whose transfer-tax (PT-61) or Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) data matches it. Address matching uses only that PT-61/UCC address data, so it is not universal — it only catches filings where that data exists. Post office box addresses are not eligible for address notifications.
• Document reference. Add a document notification for a specific recorded deed: choose Document in FANS and enter the county, book, and page from the recorded deed sent after closing and recording. Document notifications only go out for Real Estate, Lien, and Plat requests when the deed's book and page have been indexed by the clerk and transmitted.

FANS requests expire after one year unless you renew them by logging in periodically. Log in and renew before the year is up — the reminder at the bottom of this page is set before your requests expire.

If a human owner's name appears on the deed, register that name. If title is held in a trust and the trustees are named on the deed, the county indexes both the trustees' names and the trust name, so register the trustees' names. If title is held in an LLC, corporation, or other entity, register your own name too — FANS requires a name registration — plus the address and document notifications, which are what will catch filings on entity-owned property. Watch entity and trust names themselves through Google Alerts.

If title has been deeded into an estate, register both the personal representative's name and the decedent's name — the county indexes the estate name, the personal representative's name, and often the decedent's name, and FANS allows multiple notification requests at no cost. The estate name itself is not a human name, so watch it through Google Alerts.

Why so many versions? Because a clerk or indexer may record your name differently than you write it. Example: Cheryl Conner King registers both "King" and "Conner King" — some records treat her middle name as a double last name, without hyphenation, when it is really her middle name.

Also register any other variations or misspellings of a name that have shown up on legal documents — FANS only matches exactly what you register.

Warning: FANS may only be used to monitor property you own or that you are authorized to monitor on someone's behalf. It cannot be used to track other people. See the prohibited uses in the FANS Terms of Use.

Step 2 — Set Google Alerts (free, needs a Google account)

Go to google.com/alerts and paste each phrase below, exactly as shown, quotes included. Quoted phrases match that exact wording. Set delivery to "as-it-happens" or "at most once a day," and deliver to an email you actually read.

Google Alerts watch the web — listings, ads, and pages — not deed records. They are a complement to FANS, not a substitute.

Step 3 — Your annual habit

Once a year, work through this list — and renew your FANS requests before they expire:

• Log in to FANS and renew your notification requests before they expire — requests expire one year after you create them.
• Re-check the deed records for your property — through your closing office, or the county deed records.
• Confirm your tax-bill mailing address is still correct with the county tax assessor. Tax bills suddenly stopping is a red flag.
• Confirm your Google Alerts are still running.
• Check whether your owner's title insurance covers forgery after the policy date — enhanced policies often do, standard ones often do not. Ask the office that closed your purchase.
• Sign up for USPS Informed Delivery, and do not let mail pile up at a property you do not live at.
• Freeze your credit for free at each bureau — identity theft is often step one of deed fraud.

Warning signs

Any of these deserves a prompt look at the records:

• Mail addressed to someone you do not know, arriving at your address.
• Tax bills, mortgage statements, or utility bills suddenly stopping.
• A loan, foreclosure, or lien notice you do not recognize.
• An unsolicited offer to buy your property — especially vacant land — from someone you have never dealt with. Verify anyone who contacts you about buying or transferring your property, and never sign anything on the spot.
• A "for sale" sign or listing for property you are not selling.

A note on powers of attorney

Forged or abused powers of attorney are a real way deeds get signed by the wrong person. Never sign a blank power of attorney. If an old one is no longer needed, revoke it in writing, and tell the people who might be asked to rely on it.

A note on paid title locking, monitoring and/or defense plans

Three things to know before you pay for one:

1. It is a misnomer — you cannot lock a title. Nothing gets "locked" at the clerk's office. A document that meets the recording requirements will still be recorded, no matter what subscription you hold.
2. Some title locking, monitoring and/or defense subscription plans promise restoration or legal assistance, but I could not independently verify an example of one paying legal costs to defend a customer's title.
3. They charge a fee for protection most people with an enhanced title policy already have. An owner's policy with post-policy fraud or forgery protection defends your title and pays covered losses under its terms — and the monitoring itself is free through FANS. Before you pay for a subscription, check the owner's policy from your purchase: enhanced (homeowner's) policies often include post-policy forgery protection, and standard policies often do not. Services vary — compare what each one actually does: monitoring only, help after an alert, coverage, exclusions, and price.

If you get an alert

1. Don't ignore it. Check first whether you, a co-owner, or your lender authorized it. It may be a legitimate filing, or another person with the same name.
2. Get the recorded document from the county deed records. Read what it actually says, who signed it, and who prepared it.
3. Preserve everything — the alert, the document, any letters, and notes of every call, with dates.
4. Contact a Georgia real estate attorney promptly. Time matters: a fraudulent deed can be sold on to someone else, and unwinding that gets harder with every step. Bring the document and your notes.
5. If it appears forged, report it to law enforcement and to the Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division, and keep copies of every report.
6. Do not sign anything from someone offering to "fix" it for a fee until an attorney you trust has reviewed it.

Step 4 — Already own? Get a baseline

Your document — keep it, or hand it to someone else

Download or print one clean document with everything above. Keep it with your deed records — or, if you prepared this for a client or family member, hand it to them.

On a phone: if Print does nothing in your browser, use Download PDF — a real PDF file that opens anywhere.

Annual reminder, in your calendar

Add a reminder to renew your FANS requests and check everything above. FANS requests expire one year after you create them, so set the reminder before they expire — the default is 11 months out, and you can pick any date.

The calendar file carries the complete details. The Google link pre-fills the same event — and sends those details to Google, so use the file if you would rather keep them off Google's servers. Very long plans may be shortened by the link, so use the file if anything looks cut off.

A note on what this tool is — and is not

This tool provides general educational information about watching for Georgia real estate fraud. It is not legal advice, and using it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It does not register anything for you, search any records, monitor your property, or determine whether a document is fraudulent — those steps need your own accounts, a closing office, or an attorney. For advice about your situation, talk to a Georgia real estate attorney.

Georgia Property Fraud Watch was prepared by Cheryl Conner King, Georgia real estate attorney and Director of REALsmart Real Estate School. Questions: cherylking@realsmartonline.com.