Fresno County offers free alert system to warn Kingsburg homeowners of possible title fraud

Manjit Dhaliwal, deputy recorder and business manager for the Fresno County Assessor-Recorder's Office, visited the Kingsburg City Council on Oct. 15 to explain a free notification program aimed at reducing property title fraud.

The program, called the Property Owner Protection Alert (POPA), notifies enrolled property owners whenever a recorded document includes their name or their APN (assessor's parcel number). “Property title fraud, also known as deed theft, is a growing threat that can take from homeowners their most valuable asset,” Dhaliwal told the council. She said criminals can forge documents or use stolen identities to transfer ownership, take out loans or attempt to sell properties without the owner’s knowledge.

Dhaliwal said the county program is free and can be set to watch by property owner name, business name or APN. Alerts are sent by email once indexed by the county’s recorder database, typically within a few days. “By notifying you early enough, you have an opportunity to look into that document, make sure it's valid,” she said, and to contact the district attorney’s real estate fraud unit if the record appears fraudulent.

County staff prepared bilingual postcards with QR codes and step‑by‑step sign‑up information and offered to provide assistance by phone. Dhaliwal recommended that residents use APN‑based alerts when possible to avoid unrelated matches from common names; she said Fresno County has roughly 250,000 APNs.

Councilmembers asked for local materials to share in the city newsletter. Dhaliwal provided a short website path (FresnoCountyCA.gov → Departments → Recorder) and said staff can walk residents through the roughly five‑minute enrollment.

No formal council action was taken; the presentation was informational.