Register of Deeds John O’Brien said he has been contacted by a resident of his district alleging that a private company called Title Lock was advertising a fraud protection service to homeowners should something be recorded on their property for a monthly fee of $14.99.
However, O’Brien said, his office offers the same service free of charge.
Residents of the Southern Essex District can sign up for the free service by visiting salemdeeds.com and by clicking on “Property Fraud Watch” or by calling the Customer Service department at (978) 542-1704.
By signing up with your name, property address, and email address you’ll receive an email the same day a document is recorded that matches your name and address, with a link to the document so you can verify that it is something you were expecting.
You can even sign up to monitor multiple properties so you can keep an eye out for your mom and dad as well. The registry can help even if you don’t have an email address; the Customer Service team will take your information and if a document is recorded with your name and address, they’ll call you and mail you a copy of the document.
O’Brien said these types of scams take advantage of people, particularly the elderly, in an attempt to scare them into paying hundreds of dollars for something that has been offered free of charge since 2017.