Champaign County alerts residents to current rash of scam letters

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND)- Champaign County Recorder of Deeds Mike Ingram warns Champaign County residents of a rash of scam letters posing as false official-sounding agencies.

According to Ingram, the letters originate from fake-but-trying-to-sound-official places like "Local Records Office" in Pekin or "Records Recovery Services" in Naperville, do not appear to attempt to phish any information from homeowners.

Instead, the scam is believed to be an attempt by the sender to insert themselves between the Recorder's office and the homeowner to make some quick money.

Scammers use publicly available information about your property to seem official and then ask for a sum of money (usually around $80-100) for a copy of your deed (aka title).

Most confusion comes from people not always understanding the difference between home deeds and car titles.

Ingram ensures that when you buy a new house or piece of property, even via a mortgage, the deed is placed in your name, and the mortgage is just a recorded lien on the property; when you pay it off, the deed does not change, nor are you sent a copy. It always resides at our office.

Homeowners who live in Champaign County can get a copy of their deed from the Recorder's office at any time, free of charge.

The Champaign County Administrative Office located at 1776 E Washington in Urbana is open Mon-Fri 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

One can also request a PDF copy by emailing recorderofdeeds@co.champaign.il.us.

Anyone concerned about their property being susceptible to fraudulent activity can visit www.propertyfraudalert.com to sign up for free alerts that you receive whenever a document with your name is recorded in our office.