Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller warns of rising scams, urges Tequesta residents to sign up for property-fraud alert

Mike Caruso, Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller, told the Village of Tequesta council on July 16 that scams targeting residents have grown sharply and urged people to sign up for the county’s free property-fraud-alert service.

Caruso said fraud now arrives by text, email and phone almost daily and that criminals “focus group their scripts” to create urgency and credibility. He cited Federal Trade Commission and county figures to illustrate scale: about $12.5 billion in reported fraud nationally last year (with much higher estimates when unreported fraud is included) and a rising number of local property-deed fraud cases. “When in doubt, don’t give your info out,” Caruso said, adding: “If they eventually ask you for a credit card or debit card, it’s always a scam.”

Caruso described a common property-fraud scenario in which a fraudster forges a quitclaim deed and a notary, files it at the clerk’s office, and quickly borrows against or sells the home. He said the clerk’s office has a property fraud alert system: residents can attach an email address to their parcel at MyPalmBeachClerkPFA and will be notified minutes after a document is recorded against the property. “It takes you two minutes to attach your email address,” he said, and recommended adding spouse, attorney or realtor emails as additional recipients.

Council members and residents tested the sign-up process during the meeting and reported immediate email and text alerts when their deeds were recorded, confirming the system’s functionality. Caruso said his office has signed up roughly 150,000 of Palm Beach County’s ~650,000 properties since making the program a priority.

Caruso also described other scam types — jury duty and impersonation scams that threaten arrest — and urged people to hang up and call authorities. He said county and state partners, including the sheriff and state prosecutor, coordinate on prevention and prosecution. Caruso offered to help residents who have trouble signing up and left flyers and a contact number for follow-up.

The clerk’s presentation prompted council appreciation and short technical follow-ups about address matching for residents whose mail shows a neighboring town; staff explained the system matches name, address or property locator number and will still send notifications if the county’s record matches any of those fields.

The council did not take formal action; the presentation served to educate residents about fraud trends and encourage signups for the county alert service.