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Mar 13, 2022 Record sales intensify deed solicitation scams

Gary Sandler

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Published 13 March 2022

If you purchased a home or transferred ownership of a property you own, you may have received a solicitation to obtain a copy of your deed. Since deeds are recorded at the county clerk’s office, they are public records that are available to anyone in the world who requests a copy. In fact, almost all public records are accessible through New Mexico’s Inspection of Public Records Act.

I didn’t purchase a home but did recently transfer ownership of my property from myself to my family trust. Within three weeks of the transfer, I received an offer via U.S. Mail to obtain a copy of my newly recorded deed — for $98.00! These so-called deed solicitation scams are pervasive around the country and are scams because you can obtain copies of your deeds at no charge from the Doña Ana County Clerk’s office.

You need only phone the clerk’s office at 575-647-7421 and request a copy. The clerk will be happy to email it to you at no charge. You can also obtain a copy by creating an account and going online to https://donaanacounty.org/clerk/docs and downloading the document. An account can be created by downloading the account request form at https://donaanacounty.org/content/clerks-document-request-form. Requests may also be made via U.S. Mail or fax by mailing to Doña Ana County Clerk, 854 N. Motel Blvd, Las Cruces, NM 88007 or faxing to 575-527-9857.

The clerk’s office charges $1.00 per page for in-person pick-up and U.S. Mail delivery. Certified copies may be obtained for an additional $1.00 per page. Most deeds are single-page documents, while properties with long legal descriptions may require additional pages.

Deed scams are not the only cons being perpetrated on unsuspecting New Mexicans, according to the New Mexico’s Attorney General’s office. Take telephone scams, for example. According to the NMAG website, “Telephone scammers try to trick you out of money or get access to your personal information. Scams may come through phone calls from real people, robocalls, or text messages. The callers often make false promises, such as opportunities to buy products, invest your money, or receive free product trials. They may also offer you money through free grants and lotteries. Some scammers may call with threats of jail or lawsuits if you don’t pay them.”

Telephone scams include the Social Security version, where callers advise that there’s a problem with your account and your social security number has been suspended, as well as banking versions that try to convince you that an overpayment has been made and your account number is needed to rectify the problem. IRS imposter scams occur when someone contacts you pretending to work for the IRS. The imposter may contact you by phone, email, postal mail or even a text message, according to the NMAG, and threaten to arrest you if you do not fork over your personal information.

For more information on additional types of scams and how to report them, log on to the NMAG website at https://www.nmag.gov/scams-and-fraud.aspx. By staying vigilant, you can help put these scammers out of business.

See you at closing.

Gary Sandler is a full-time Realtor and owner of Gary Sandler Inc., Realtors in Las Cruces. He loves to answer questions and can be reached at 575-642-2292 or Gary@GarySandler.com.

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