January is the month of the fresh start. It brings in the New Year and the inevitable “I am going to be better about (insert your commitments here) this year” commitments everyone makes to themselves.

Building on our end of year recommendations, I’d like to offer another “I am going to be better about” to your list.

In 2016, the real estate industry saw a big spike in the amount of attempts fraudsters made to hijack real estate transactions. While we have undertaken significant precautionary measures to make sure our clients and transactions are protected from these attempts, we would like to offer some advice to you to help you avoid any fraudsters’ attempts to detract from your ability to fulfill your New Year’s commitments.

To help protect your real property and your identity, go to your county clerk’s website and perform a public records search for your own name. If you see a transaction or document you don’t recognize, this could be an attempt by someone to steal your identity or assets.

If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation where someone has made a fraudulent attempt on your identity or assets, please give us a call, and we will help you sort it out. Hopefully, you don’t find yourself in those shoes, and instead, you find plenty of time and energy to follow through with your personal “I’m going to be better about.” Good luck!