What is deed fraud, and how does watching help?
Someone forges a transfer or files a claim you did not sign. Watching does not stop the filing. It shortens the time before you know.
The recorder’s job is to record, not to investigate every signature
In Illinois, a recorder generally accepts a document that meets the filing rules. A forged deed or a bogus lien can land in the index. You may not hear about it until you try to sell, refinance, or pay the tax bill and the account looks wrong.
Monitoring compares new recordings with your property and your name and tells you. Counties in Cook and DuPage also offer free alerts. Those alerts, and ours, are notices after a filing. They are not a lock, and they are not title insurance.
What to do
- Read the longer, sourced explanation on Why protect your home.
- If you already suspect a filing, use the checklist there: recorder, police, a real estate attorney, and the FBI’s IC3.