South Fulton lawmakers preparing seniors to avoid getting scammed out of their homes

SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — South Fulton lawmakers and county leaders are educating senior homeowners on ways to protect their property, after an uptick in deed theft cases. Representative Mandisha Thomas and Representative Gabe Okoye held a fraud protection seminar in South Fulton.

Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln has reported about several cases regarding homeowners having their homes stolen.

Housing advocates say what makes this type of theft so easy, is that right now in Georgia you do not need any form of identification to modify or change deed paperwork.

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Lawmakers were able to pass House Bill 1292 this legislative session. It strengthens state law that will now require individuals to show identification when modifying deeds. This law will also impose penalties on those who violate this.

Representative Thomas says another angle lawmakers are looking to target is the rampant use of fake notaries.

“Some of the stamps the notaries are using are fake and we want those to be sought out after,” Representative Thomas said.

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Housing advocates say ways to protect yourself include registering your property with your county’s clerk office to receive fraud alerts.

“This is solely education and awareness, we have specifically targeted our seniors because a lot of them, their homes are paid off, especially in the city of South Fulton, districts five, six and seven, we actually target those areas because they could be the next victim,” Thomas said.

Representative Thomas says they are looking to hold additional seminars in the city of Atlanta and Douglas County.

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IN RELATED NEWS:

77-year-old man arrested, couple forced to move after their DeKalb home is stolen in fraud case A Stone Mountain couple said they were forced out of their home after someone stole it from them in a case of fraud.

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