Dunn County register of deeds urges property owners to sign up for fraud alerts after attempted scams

Heather, Dunn County Register of Deeds, told the board that fraudsters are increasingly attempting to file forged real-estate documents and that property owners should protect themselves by enrolling in a free monitoring service.

Heather described two attempted scams involving out-of-county property owners whose parcels were targeted by people posing as sellers. In one case a realtor flagged the attempted sale because a prospective seller could not correctly pronounce the local place name; in the other case a sign was placed in a yard before a neighbor contacted the listed owner. In both incidents staff said the rightful owners were not planning to sell and the recordings did not proceed.

The register urged property owners to sign up for a free monitoring service (propertyfraudalert.com). That system sends an alert within 24 hours if a document recording with a registrant’s name appears in a participating register of deeds office. Heather said Dunn County’s office already has more than 370 subscribers and staff can assist residents with enrollment.

She said the register’s office maintains paper records backed up offsite and provides statewide issuance of vital records; the office recorded 5,353 documents in 2024, including 1,545 ownership transfers. The register noted that recording fees are set by state statute and that housing-market activity affects revenues.

Ending: The register encouraged residents who own vacant or second properties to consider signing up for property-fraud alerts and to contact the register’s office for help enrolling; no formal board action was requested.