OAKLAND COUNTY (WWJ) - Residents in Oakland County reported receiving strange notices in the mail pretending to come from the clerk's office as part of a scam and marketing ploy, authorities said.
And county officials are fed up.
“I have no patience for scam artists trying to mislead or bilk Oakland County residents," said Lisa Brown, Oakland County Clerk/ Register of Deeds, in a press release on Thursday.
According to Brown, numerous people throughout Oakland County were mailed postcards from the “County Deed Records” and “Home Warranty Division.” The mail threatens residents with a “lapse in coverage” and other abrasive language clearly meant to upset the reader.
Brown said the cards are emblazoned with terms like “Property Lienholder,” “Final Notice” and “Registration is Required,” while telling recipients to call a 1-800 telephone number.
Brown's office called the notice a "sales marketing ploy for home warranty policies priced at thousands of dollars annually."
A second, separate mailing was also reported by residents, with the title “Notice of Warrant and State of Michigan Tax Lien Action” and references the “County of Oakland Office of Levys and Liens.”
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"No such office exists," Brown's office said.
Much like the first mailer, these letters also threaten recipients, saying “Property Seizure is Imminent” while once again providing a 1-800 telephone number for residents to call and resolve the issue.
The clerk's office said the second mailings seem to come from a debt collector and are in no way authorities by Oakland County officials. Brown warned residents not to sending money to these unknown entities under any circumstances.
“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," Brown said.
“The threat of property fraud is real and, while thankfully rare, something every homeowner should be vigilant about,” she warned. “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."
Brown said it is one of many services the county provides to add security for Oakland County residents.
To learn more about PRN, visit www.ocmideeds.com.
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