Home title fraud on the rise since pandemic according to investigators, insurance companies

  • 📰 globeandmail
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 55 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 25%
  • Publisher: 92%

Business News News

Business Business Latest News,Business Business Headlines

Lawyers, insurance companies and the Ontario Real Estate Association are calling on governments to better respond to title fraud

Chicago Title Insurance Company did not have a single record of total title fraud, in which criminals impersonate a homeowner to sell a property, between the firm’s founding in the sixties and 2019. But now, the company is dealing with more than 30 claims in the GTA and Metro Vancouver, according to John Rider, its senior vice-president.

Mr. King says title fraud involves a team of criminals who surveil victims, forge their ID cards, open fake bank accounts and eventually impersonate them in dealing with real estate agents, lawyers and financial service providers. They often target homes that have been vacant for some time, as well as homes that have small or no mortgage balances so they can maximize their profits when a sale is made.

“I have concerns that we would have to start limiting our coverage to the industry, and if that happens it would fall completely to consumers, lenders and brokers,” said Mr. Rider, who added that his company has approximately 20 per cent of the market share of title insurance in Canada. “The people or groups who are committing these crimes need to face appropriate consequences – and those thinking about committing these crimes need to know they can and will be punished,” said Ms. DeTommaso in a written statement.

Tim Hudak, the CEO of the Ontario Real Estate Association, says the relative novelty of title fraud means it can be difficult to prevent.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

Blame the 27% real estate brokers who are currently or formerly convicted felons!

You wanted multiculturalism Hong Kong style and you got it

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 5. in BUSİNESS

Business Business Latest News, Business Business Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

The Trends That Shaped Ontario's Real Estate Market From 2020 to 2022A new report offers fresh insight into the trends and behaviours in Ontario's real estate market pre-March 2020 through December 2022. It's a bumpy ride. teranet_social | realestate realestatenews Ontario realestatemarket
Source: storeyspub - 🏆 16. / 74 Read more »