March marks Fraud Prevention Month, when professionals across Canada discuss the issue of fraud and raise awareness among consumers and businesses. 2023’s conversation started early, when dozens of title fraud cases made national headlines starting in January. FCT had previously sounded the alarm about title fraud in a piece for the Globe and Mail last year.
“Fraud involving real estate is a very real threat, and like other types of fraud, it’s one that has been getting worse during the pandemic,” a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) from FCT said. “A lot of people think it can’t happen to them—until it does.”
One case that stands out started when a homeowner, living abroad at the time, got a phone call from his neighbour. The neighbour had seen movers taking furniture into the home, and was surprised the owner hadn’t told them he was selling the property. That’s how he found out the title to his home had been stolen. Fortunately, he had protection.
“Title insurance really is the best defense against title fraud,” explains Daniela DeTommaso, President of FCT. “There’s no reason every homebuyer and homeowner shouldn’t have it—nobody gets a home or a car without insuring it, why not their title?”
For Daniela, fraud is a unique threat to the real estate industry. “At FCT, we protect property owners and homebuyers from expensive and hard-to-anticipate risks, but none of them have the same human cost as fraud,” she says. “I’m so proud to lead a team of industry experts who work hard to detect and prevent it.”
“They know what warning signs to watch out for and flag deals for our legal and lending partners,” Daniela continues. “They play a vital role in protecting consumers because the threat of fraud is growing—the number of suspicious transactions we’ve seen at FCT has tripled since the start of the pandemic.”
The consequences of title fraud are significant and can be long-lasting. Don’t leave your home at risk. Get protected now, no matter how long you’ve owned it, with existing homeowner’s coverage from FCT.
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