LISBON — Columbiana County Recorder Jim Armeni and his deputy recorders are reminding residents about the free service available to protect themselves from possible property and mortgage fraud.

Known as PropertyCheck, the automated system sends property owners emails or text alerts when official documents are recorded for their property, with the alerts based on name, property address, or parcel number.

An example of property fraud could be if someone attempts to steal a property by filing a quit claim deed on the parcel without the property owner knowing or by forging someone’s identity.

Recently, there was a television news story about a case of quit claim deed fraud in Mahoning County when a woman discovered someone forged her signature on a quit claim deed to transfer her property to a company which was then advertising the home for sale.

“We got a bunch of phone calls from people concerned about their property being sold out from under them,” Columbiana County deputy recorder Matt Plegge said Friday.

Armeni said his office works closely with the county auditor’s office and they all watch for

anything suspicious, such as the use of forms off of the internet and a quit claim deed or transfer with no lawyer or title company involved. Deputy Recorder Tina Frantz said they also look for red flags with signatures and who prepared the document.

Both Plegge and Armeni said property owners should use an attorney or a title company to transfer a property.

“That’s the best way to do it,” Armeni said

PropertyCheck will notify the property owner of any attempts to record paperwork related to their property, so if something’s fraudulent, the property owner will know and can do something about it.

Armeni started offering the free service in 2023 in a partnership with Cott Systems, calling it “an extra layer of protection to the community.”

Residents can sign up for PropertyCheck alerts through the Cott Systems RECORDhub website at https://recordhub.cottsystems.com or by calling Cott Customer Service at 1-800-588-2688. The link can also be found on the county recorder’s website at www.columbianacountyrecorder.org.

According to a press release Armeni issued two years ago to explain the free service, PropertyCheck works with the county recorder’s records management RECORDhub software and residents just need to create a RECORDhub account, select the county and “choose your name and property address (if applicable) and select your preferred method of alerts — email or text message.”

Property owners can create as many variations as they want when they fill out their name.

Armeni said a lot of times it all comes down to the notary checking the identification of the person signing the quit claim deed to ensure they are who they say they are.

Considering the recent case in Mahoning County, he thought this would be a good time to remind property owners about the availability of PropertyCheck.