Oakland County has sounded the alarm about misleading mailings received by area residents under the guise of representing county offices.

Over the past several weeks, numerous area residents contacted the Oakland County Register of Deeds office after receiving a postcard through the mail with the heading “County Deed Records” and “Home Warranty Division.” The postcard threatens a “lapse in coverage” and contains language clearly designed to agitate recipients. Emblazoned with terms like “Property Lienholder,” “Final Notice” and “Registration is Required,” recipients are urged to call a 1-800 telephone number. The notice is a sales marketing ploy for home warranty policies priced at thousands of dollars annually.

A separate mailing with the heading “Notice of Warrant and State of Michigan Tax Lien Action” references the “County of Oakland Office of Levys and Liens.” No such office exists. Like the first example, these mailers contain urgent threats that “Property Seizure is Imminent” and urge recipients to call a 1-800 telephone number. These appear to be generated by a debt collector and are not authorized by Oakland County. Under no circumstances should residents send money.

“I have no patience for scam artists trying to mislead or bilk Oakland County residents. Anyone masquerading as the Oakland County Register of Deeds or other county department is a shameful fraudster,” said Lisa Brown, Oakland County Clerk/ Register of Deeds. “If you receive either of these in your mailbox, please know that it is not from my office and has no bearing on the status of your property. The best course of action is to dispose of these the same way you would any other piece of junk mail.”

“The threat of property fraud is real and, while thankfully rare, something every homeowner should be vigilant about,” Brown said. “That’s why I established the Property Records Notification (PRN), a free service that sends an email notification whenever a document is recorded in the Oakland County Register of Deeds office with an enrollee’s chosen search term, like your home address for example. This is just one of the services we provide to help make life a little more secure for Oakland County residents.”

PRN is a protective measure that keeps enrolled homeowners apprised of any activity on their property records and to let residents know of changes. To create an account visit this website www.ocmideeds.com.