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El Dorado County recorder offers free property‑monitoring program to curb seller‑impersonation fraud
Summary
The El Dorado County Recorder-Clerk presented evidence of rising seller‑impersonation schemes targeting vacant land and high‑equity properties and unveiled a free monitoring program with EquityProtect that uses daily record feeds, dark‑web scanning and a recorded UCC backed by a $1 million policy to flag fraudulent transactions.
Janelle Horn, El Dorado County Recorder‑Clerk, told the Placerville City Council on Feb. 24 that seller‑impersonation schemes—often aimed at vacant land and properties with no outstanding mortgage—have increased locally and nationally and that only a small fraction are reported to prosecutors. "Only 10% of real estate fraud gets reported," Horn said, urging property owners and realtors to file complaints with the district attorney's real estate‑fraud division when they suspect a scam.
Horn said impersonators use detailed public‑record information to create convincing fake identifications and are increasingly combining that data with AI deepfakes. She described cases in which out‑of‑county realtors were approached with forged IDs and fake listing requests, and an example where a deed recorded for a property owned by a Canadian resident led to a DA investigation. "They presented fake IDs that had all of the correct information about those property owners," Horn said.
The Recorder‑Clerk’s office has negotiated a free property‑monitoring program for El Dorado County residents with a private vendor, EquityProtect. Horn said the program provides the county with a daily secure file of newly recorded documents, monitors third‑party rental and sales listing sites (examples cited included Realtor.com, Zillow and Craigslist), scans dark‑web sources, and issues email alerts and a monthly analysis to subscribers. As part of the contract the vendor will record a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filing intended to place a flag on title reports; Horn said the vendor’s package is backed by a $1,000,000 insurance policy and includes a no‑cost risk assessment to identify medium‑ and high‑risk properties.
Horn advised residents that title‑lock commercial services are largely reactive and that the Recorder‑Clerk’s published index allows the public to check recorded documents 24/7. She encouraged homeowners to confirm ownership with neighbors, report suspected fraud to the district attorney’s office and use the free monitoring service. "We are doing our best to fight fraud in El Dorado County," Horn said.
The presentation concluded with council members thanking Horn and no formal council action; Horn provided QR‑coded postcards for residents to sign up for the free monitoring.
Next steps: Residents who suspect impersonation were told to contact the Recorder‑Clerk’s office and the district attorney’s real estate fraud division to file complaints; the vendor’s signup details will be distributed via tax bill inserts and at the city office.
