Collier County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller Crystal K. Kinzel is pleased to announce the launch of the Risk Alert Notification Program, a free service designed to help Collier County property owners monitor and protect their property records and quickly stop scammers in their tracks.

According to the FBI, property fraud is one of the fastest growing white-collar crimes in the United States. Scammers file fraudulent property documents such as deeds, liens or mortgages to make it appear as if they own property that is not actually theirs, and then they deceive people into giving them money to buy or rent the property or deceive financial institutions into giving them loan money.

“Unfortunately, these days it seems that scams and fraud are on the rise, and criminals are using new ways to enrich themselves at our expense,” said Clerk Crystal Kinzel. “It’s important that we take every opportunity to reduce risk, so I strongly encourage everyone to subscribe to our new Risk Alert Notification Program.”

Subscribers to the Risk Alert Notification Program will receive an email alert if a deed, lien, mortgage or other land record matching the subscriber’s exact name or business name is recorded in the Official Records of Collier County. Although this service does not prevent the actual fraudulent activity from occurring, it provides subscribers with the opportunity to determine whether the activity was legitimately initiated, or if a scammer is committing fraud. If fraud did occur, the subscriber can quickly take the next steps with law enforcement agencies. Those interested in subscribing to the free Risk Alert Notification Program must do so online on the Clerk’s website, CollierClerk.com.

For more information, contact Mike Sheffield, Director of Community Relations and Outreach at (239) 252-6879 or Mike.Sheffield@CollierClerk.com.