Carbon County property owners can now set up an alert to be notified if someone files a deed or mortgage on their property without their knowledge.

On Thursday, Donna Gentile, county recorder of deeds, announced that the LANDEX record alert service is now available.

“This free service provides property owners with an immediate early warning system against unauthorized transfers of land records and potential property theft,” she said. “Property ownership is the most significant investment many of our residents will ever make. While we cannot legally refuse to record a document that meets statutory requirements, we can empower our property owners to review and verify recorded documents within 48 hours of being recorded, offering peace of mind.”

Gentile said that this service is free and available to anyone who owns property in Carbon County.

To sign up, either visit the county website and navigate to the Recorder of Deeds landing page under row offices; or directly at https://www.landex.com/recordalert/carbon.

You will need to input all versions of your name that you would use such as first and last name; first, middle initial and last name; and first and last name and suffix.

You will also need your parcel ID, which can be found on your tax bill, Gentile said, noting that it is also called the UPI number within the alert system.

“It’s a real-time notification system so whenever a document, such as a deed or mortgage or lien is recorded under a monitor, name or number, an automatic automated alert is sent via email or text,” she said. “If a resident receives an alert for a transaction they did not authorize, they can immediately contact local law enforcement and legal counsel to freeze further activity.”

Carbon County approved adding this service last month after Gentile said that deed fraud is becoming a growing problem nationwide. In these fraud cases, also known as title theft, criminals illegally transfer a property’s title without the homeowner’s knowledge using forged documents or fake IDs, often targeting vacant land, or mortgage-free properties.

The system will cost $6,000 initially and $2,000 every year after.

Gentile said last month that she has not had any cases of deed fraud but wanted to get ahead of things to help property owners after discussions with other county recorder of deeds across the state.

While the alert system does not stop the fraud from occurring, it allows the property owner with a quicker notification that something has happened so corrective steps can be taken.

Carbon County currently handles between 8,000 and 10,000 deeds annually.

If you have questions, you can contact Gentile’s office at 570-325-2651.