Web site aims to prevent 'house theft'

Think you're safe from mortgage fraud because you pay the bills on time every month? Think again. Criminals have expanded well beyond duping borrowers seeking loan modifications or money-laundering schemes paid for by innocent investors.

Now, it appears fraudsters also can steal your house from right underneath you.

The New York Times writes about this growing trend, literally called "house theft," but in the spirit of thinking positive, it also writes about a Web site that aims to keep you from becoming its victim: ePropertyWatch.com.

So how exactly can somebody take ownership of the home that you're living in?

Basically, it's like a new kind of identity theft, according to the description on ePropertyWatch.

Here's how it works. Your identity is assumed. A fake Social Security card or driver's license is created.  Then, a trip to an office supply store to purchase standard forms to initiate house transfers.

Then, a recording of that transfer, using your identity, at the county office. Does the county know that this request is being done fraudulently? No. Appropriate identification has been shown.

Now, your stolen house is in another's name. The house stealer can sell it to an unsuspecting buyer and pocket the profits. Or borrow against its equity. Your equity.

And that's where ePropertyWatch.com steps in. After you sign up for the free service, it keeps an eye on any public documents that could clue you in to criminal activity related to your home -- similar to keeping an eye on your credit report to keep an eye out for ID theft.

• 5 ways to fight ID theft

The Web site allows you to safely sign up for this monitoring service, and you choose how and what they should notify you about. Did somebody take out a lien on your property? They can e-mail you and let you know.

In addition, the Web site, which is owned by real-estate and mortgage data collector First American CoreLogic, also can keep an eye on neighborhood trends and notify you if, say, nearby prices have dropped dramatically or if foreclosures have taken a sudden peak.

Using such data, they also are able to provide informal appraisals, which First American Vice President Michael Maron told The Times "will typically be within 10 percent of the home’s actual market value."

• How to estimate your home's value

However, the article also writes that this kind of fraud is less common than other types of mortgage fraud, and that for now it's more of a problem in cities with larger numbers of vacant properties, such as Detroit and Miami.

But it can't hurt to check -- if you can, since The Times also notes that the new service is available primarily in major metropolitan areas right now.

Do you plan to sign up for ePropertyWatch.com?