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12/04/2023 02:02 PMPress Release from the Town of North Branford
The Town of North Branford has implemented Cott Systems’ PropertyCheck in an invigorated effort to combat property and mortgage fraud in North Branford. This 24/7 service allows residents to sign up on the Cott Systems’ RECORDhub through the Town of North Branford website to receive notifications when official documents are recorded in their name. Residents can activate alerts based on the spelling of their name. There is no cost to participate.
“The Town is pleased to offer this additional tool at no cost to the residents as a means to protect their property from unethical practices,” said Mayor Rose Angeloni.
“This is an important resource to our residents to help protect their property interests, and I hope they will take advantage of it as an added line of defense against fraudulent activity,” said Councilor Thomas Zampano.
The Town Council approved the implementation of the PropertyCheck System last October at the recommendation of Town Clerk Lisa Valenti and Town Manager Michael Downes.
Property fraud can occur if someone forges your identity, transfers your property into their name, and records the document. This fraudulent activity can make it appear as if that person owns your home or property before the victim is aware anything has happened. Such criminal activity is becoming more prevalent today as cyber criminals exploit every avenue they can to cause harm and steal from everyday citizens.
PropertyCheck works seamlessly in the background of the Town’s land records management RECORDhub software, automatically alerting if a document with matching name is recorded. All residents have to do is opt in by creating a RECORDhub account, creating alerts for their name, and choosing a preference for alerts – email or text message.
“It’s also a good idea to set up multiple alerts based on first, middle, and last name variations and your spouse’s name to be sure that an alert will be triggered in case a recording happens with some kind of slight variation,” says Paul Fetters, the Product Implementation Specialist at Cott Systems.
To sign up for alerts residents should go to the town website, northbranfordct.gov, and navigate to the Town Clerk’s page. Under “List of Services” click on PropertyCheck click “sign up” and follow the prompts. PropertyCheck can also be found through the “Online Services” link on the front page.