{"id":7789,"date":"2026-10-01T00:18:38","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T04:18:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=7789"},"modified":"2026-10-01T00:18:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T04:18:39","slug":"mortgage-borrower-is-someone-looking-to-take-your-deed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/mortgage-borrower-is-someone-looking-to-take-your-deed\/","title":{"rendered":"Mortgage Borrower: Is Someone Looking to Take Your Deed?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In a case that has received wide attention, an heir to a home in Queens got an email from the mortgage servicer. It was about an address change. When asked about the letter, the company said someone had paid off the loan. The owner then went to the property and saw workers throwing out his family\u2019s belongings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, PNC Bank made the news for sending a letter to one of its loan customers. It was an alert that the bank had changed the customer\u2019s address on bank records. But the customer hadn\u2019t moved. Unlike the Queens case, the PNC Bank borrower\u2019s deed hadn\u2019t been manipulated. But the bank\u2019s erroneous letter itself was a cause for concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Error\u2014Or Was Something Sneaky Afoot?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The PNC customer went to the website to check the account. Good first move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The loan account looked fine. No address change appeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The customer then called the number on the bank\u2019s letter. In another good move, the customer checked the company\u2019s own materials to be sure that the same number was legitimate before calling it. (A search online for the number inside quotation marks would also do the job.) The customer knew not<\/em> to call a number in an unexpected notice before looking the number up and checking that it really belongs to the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agent on the phone did not know anything about the strange letter. Just disregard it, said the agent. That advice didn\u2019t alleviate the customer\u2019s worries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a personal visit to a branch to find a manager who made calls on the customer\u2019s behalf, the answer became apparent. The bank had mistakenly sent the letter because of a mismatch in the company\u2019s own system. In the computer age, just as in the time of typewriters, mistakes do happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lessons Learned From Real Mortgage Borrowers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The PNC Bank customer had set up two-factor authentication on the account. This was the right thing to do. It\u2019s a barrier against manipulators and bots\u2014as long as they lack access to the passcode that the bank sends to the customer accessing the account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another step deed holders can take is to set up alerts from the county government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go to the county website. Check the URL in your browser and be sure you\u2019re on the actual government website. Find the section dealing with deed recording. If it allows you to sign up for deed activity alerts, do this today. Any changes or claims against your deed will then trigger a notice to you, usually by email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A search for your county\u2019s name and \u201cdeed alerts\u201d or a more pointed search such as \u201c_____ County Records\u201d and \u201cFraud Notify\u201d should take you to the page, if your county has one. If your county has not yet set this up, ask your local political representatives to press for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do:<\/p>\n\n\n\n