I spoke with a local landman about this issue a couple of months ago. It seems they too are becoming concerned. Appraisers are also as some of their identities are being stolen to use in filing fraudulent property records.
Florida is one of the worst and their citizens are also suffering more than most. Deed fraud is rampant in many areas of Florida and this involves criminals using the internet "public" records to locate victims and electronically clip genuine signatures from old deeds, new notary seals from recent documents and then paste them onto bogus deeds. Some of the signatures they clipped and pasted were from people who had been dead for many years. The Belgium authorities have even become involved with this as many of their notary seals were used in this way.
This type of deed and mortgage fraud is spreading across the country. It has reached Texas and other states. The only place we are not seeing this type of fraud are in those counties which are not publishing the document images online. One exception, when the documents are bought in bulk by private companies and are subsequently published online the rates of mortgage, deed, and identity fraud are also seen to increase.
Organized crime is behind much of this and in Chicago a gang is using mortgage and deed fraud to expand their territory and create buffer zones. Many poor residents of Chicago have been forced out of their homes as a result; evicted by the ruthless drug gangs that control the neighborhood.
In Alegheny County, PA , judges demanded a site taken down that contained their home addresses. They sited the murder of a federal judges family in Chicago.
Any way you look at it, it is just a very bad idea to send this information outside the jurisdiction in bulk. Many are coming to realize this. The only argument anyone can make for bulk transfer is that it is convenient and profitable for those outside the jurisdiction. I wouldn't want to argue their case to those who are being exploited.
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