SCAM Alert! Don’t become a victim. Sign up for free service to help keep you and your property safe!

Local County Officials and their offices have been trying to stay ahead of a recent scam targeting our county. The Noble County Sheriff’s Office, Noble County Recorder’s Office and the Noble County Auditor’s Office have been working together to try and prevent fraudulent transfers of land by individuals claiming to be the legal owner of property here in Noble County. Currently, the scam is targeting vacant landowners who have out of state tax mailing addresses. Emails are being solicited to dozens of realtors, most of which are not local to our area, asking to have their property listed for sale. The emails are currently being sent from fraudulent Gmail accounts containing the legal landowners name as part of the email address (ex: doejohnjr@gmail.com), contracts with the realtors are being signed via electronic documents and phone numbers and contact information are being provided for the person claiming to be the legal owner of the property.

The Noble County Recorder, Juanita Matheney, keeps and maintains accurate, up-to-date, and easily accessible land records. Documents are carefully indexed to facilitate easy retrieval, enabling individuals to establish a clear “chain of title” and identify any outstanding debts or encumbrances on property. The Recorder’s Office is now alerting the public of a new FREE service. It is a transfer alert. This service will alert you with a notification after a transaction is recorded. To sign up for this FREE service go to Compiled-technologies.com and look for the New iNotify Account and follow the steps to sign up.

If you have been the target of this scam or see a property listed that you believe may be fraudulent, please contact the Noble County Sheriff’s Office @ 740-732-5631, the Noble County Recorder @ 740-732-4319 or the Noble County Auditor @ 740-732-4044.