Page 4 - PGA Community News - February '23

Page 4, PGA C.A.N.! February 2023 February 2023

Reminder From Ask The Juris Doctor

Palm Beach Gardens By James A. Cioffi J.D., home ownership. I have seen the television commercials
You do not have to pay any third party to monitor your
Attorney-At-Law
Police Department Stealing Home and I understand how it might cause someone to sign up for
the monitoring service because it was meant to scare you. A
Dear Juris Doctor; former FBI Agent is the spokesperson who mentions real estate
Adopt These Habits To I have seen television fraud. The services provided by the company do not prevent
Prevent Vehicle Burglaries advertisements repeatedly any criminal activity. A homeowner would still have to retain
recently warning the the services of an attorney to file a quiet title lawsuit seeking
• Please lock your vehicle doors every time – even viewers about criminals to confirm a forged deed is void and the title to the property
for a quick stop or at home. stealing home ownership remains in the homeowner’s name.
• Never leave items of any kind inside your and offering services to Forged deeds are more likely to occur in unoccupied
vehicle. Hiding items doesn’t work! monitor the public records. properties. A criminal may pose as the seller after having
• At a minimum, if you must leave items, place What is this all about? forged a deed and try to sell the vacant property to an
them in your trunk. Jennifer at PGA National unsuspecting party. Title companies and attorneys are aware
• Cell phone/iPod power cords, GPS holders and Dear Jennifer; of these crimes and take steps to identify sellers before a
other key sets act as neon signs. The advertisement you cited is from a company that closing is completed. We scrutinize documents in the chain
• Park in well-lit areas, stay alert and call in performs a title search for your property to determine if of title to thwart criminal activity. The television and radio
any suspicious activities to the police department any criminals have recorded any forged deeds in the public advertisements are attempting to convince listeners to enroll
nonemergency number: 799-4445. records and, then monitor the title to the property. However, in a monitoring service with a monthly or annual fee. One of
homeowners in Palm Beach County can now enroll in a service my friends asked me if he should enroll in the service. When
with the Clerk of the Circuit Court to search their name to he realized he could search the court records on his own and
determine if there are inappropriate documents recorded with register with the Palm Beach County Clerk of Court, he did
the Clerk of Court. Anyone can access the website of the clerk so. For more information about the County Property Fraud
of the court to perform a search and then register in the program Alert Program, please see: https://www.mypalmbeachclerk.
to be notified if any documents are recorded - such as deeds com/services/property-fraud-alert.
or mortgages. For Palm Beach County, the website is: https:// Sincerely, J.D.
erec.mypalmbeachclerk.com/FraudAlert. james@jcclaw.com

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