You’ve probably seen the ads on television. Distressed homeowners talk about losing their homes after a scammer forges title documents on their property and takes out a mortgage on the home or sells it to someone else. A company offers a solution to prevent that from happening: for a fee it will monitor for fraud and protect the homeowner’s title.

Homeowners might be left wondering if title theft insurance is something they should consider? In reality, it may be an unneeded expense.

Several companies offer “title protection services” for a fee to homeowners. These companies claim to protect property owners from criminals who forge a homeowner’s name on a deed, file the deed at the local courthouse, and then take out a mortgage against the home, or some variation on this theme.

While this type of crime has occurred, companies advertising this service may be exaggerating the risks of becoming a victim of this scam. The services appear to be less an insurance offer and more a notification service if there is recording activity related to the property.

A forged deed is not legally valid and does not actually convey anything to the criminal who created and filed it. Only the property owner can convey title to a third party or encumber the property with a security interest against the title holder. Also, it would be very difficult for the scammer to mortgage or sell the property by using a forged deed to any knowledgeable lender or buyer.

These days, lenders, title companies and real estate brokerages have safeguards in place so there is very little chance a fraudulent transfer would not be discovered. The required credit reports, tax and employment information, appraisals and title insurance are all safeguards that should alert an owner, buyer or lender that something is wrong.