Q&A
Department of Finance's efforts to combat deed fraud through ACRIS system flags
0:58:09
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85 sec
The City Register from the Department of Finance explains their efforts to combat deed fraud using flags in the ACRIS system. These flags alert examiners to potential issues when reviewing documents.
- The agency adds flags for various red flags, such as sovereign citizen documents or property values below market rate
- They have been adding flags for several years and have seen a reduction in fraudulent activity
- The agency acknowledges that criminals continue to find creative ways to steal property, making it an ongoing challenge
Colette McCain-Jacques
0:58:09
far as the Department of Finance, we are every chance that we get, if we see something trending where it looks like it's deed fraud, we're on it and we're trying to find ways to improve it.
0:58:21
So, you know, for us, we feel like this is never gonna stop because people always thinking of creative ways on how to steal people's property and we're sympathetic to that.
0:58:32
So, for us, you know, it doesn't feel good when somebody comes into your office and they say, somebody stole my property, and there's nothing that we can do legally because, we're ministerial in nature.
0:58:48
And as long as that document's in recordable order, we have to record it.
0:58:54
Mhmm.
0:58:54
But we still try to find other ways in which we can try to combat that deep deep fraud.
0:59:01
And that's like putting as many flags as we can in our ACRA system so that when the examiner is looking at the document, it is telling them why this document is being flagged.
0:59:12
Whether it's a sovereign citizen document or whether it's, the market value is lower than what the property is actually worth.
0:59:21
And, we've been adding flags for a couple of years now.
0:59:26
And the more we do it, we're seeing less of it, but it's still out there.
0:59:30
And we're still looking to, like, make things better for the homeowner.
