LISBON — Columbiana County property owners now have access to a free service through the county recorder’s officer to protect themselves against possible property fraud.

Known as PropertyCheck, the automated system sends property owners emails or text alerts when official documents are recorded for their property, with the alerts based on name, property address or parcel number.

An example of property fraud could be if someone attempts to steal a property by filing a quit claim deed on the parcel without the property owner knowing or by forging someone’s identity.

“It’s an early detection for title fraud,” county Auditor Jim Armeni Sr. said.

PropertyCheck will notify the property owner of any attempts to record paperwork related to their property, so if something’s fraudulent, the property owner will know and can do something about it.

He said he’s planning to have information about the service in the government building at the county fair, which kicks off Monday.

Armeni paid $1,000 for the software program through a partnership with Cott Systems as a way to provide property owners with early detection and what he called “an extra layer of protection to the community.”

Residents can sign up for PropertyCheck alerts through the Cott Systems RECORDhub website at https://recordhub.cottsystems.com or by calling Cott Customer Service at 1-800-588-2688. The link can also be found on the county recorder’s website at www.columbianacountyrecorder.org.

According to a press release Armeni issued to explain the free service, PropertyCheck works with the county recorder’s records management RECORDhub software and residents just need to create a RECORDhub account, select the county and “choose your name and property address (if applicable) and select your preferred method of alerts — email or text message.”

“You should also create multiple alerts with different variations of your first, middle and last name and your spouse’s name, to ensure you get an alert if a document is recorded with a slight difference,” Cott Systems Product Implementation Specialist Paul Fetters said in the press release.

Armeni said his office receives a couple calls a month from residents who become concerned after seeing ads on television about fraud. He said it scares them, but it’s not that simple to pull off because there are processes that have to be followed. Title companies do background searches, but Armeni said “the key to not losing your property is the notary.”

Notaries check the identification of the person signing.

According to Armeni, there’s a pending court case involving a quit claim deed that his office caught when someone tried to record the document.

Even with all the current protections in place, he wanted to add this service for residents to use and said he’s excited about it.

“While PropertyCheck does not prevent fraud from happening, it can alert you early on so you can take action if you suspect possible fraud,” he said in the press release.