DuPage County Recorder Fred Bucholz recently introduced a program to notify residents when ownership of their property is transferred, a technique commonly used to defraud owners of their land.

By filing a document called a quitclaim deed, people can claim ownership of property that does not belong to them, often without the owner’s knowledge.

“If nobody’s searching, if nobody’s looking at it, they go get a mortgage based on that fraudulent deed and take the money and run,” Bucholz said. They can also sell the property without the rightful owner knowing it, he added.

“A lot of times, (property owners) don’t know until they go to sell,” Bucholz said.

Under the new program, the recorder’s office will notify the property owner when a quitclaim deed is filed on their property. Owners will receive notification within a few days of the document being filed.

If the owner believes the claim is fraudulent, the information will be turned over to the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office for investigation.

State’s Attorney Joe Birkett said the program is an important step in protecting property owners from the costly process of reclaiming their property if it is fraudulently taken from them.

“I always believe in being proactive,” Birkett said. “By being proactive, you prevent crimes from happening.”

He said his office has a history of aggressively prosecuting white-collar crimes such as land fraud.

“If we catch you, we’re going to nail you,” Birkett said.

While this type of fraud has not been common in DuPage County, it is rampant in Cook County and other areas, Bucholz said.

Cook County officials are legally required to notify property owners when quitclaim deeds are filed, but DuPage County is doing it voluntarily, he said. There is a bill pending in the state legislature that would require all counties to institute notification programs.

Bucholz, a Republican, is seeking re-election in November and will face Democrat David R. Meek of Westmont.