‘How is this possible?’ cries man with eviction notice on his door – he didn’t own his house anymore, it sold for $10

A HOMEOWNER is warning others after he returned home to find an eviction notice on his door, telling him that he no longer owned the property.

A man in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma said he's been paying the mortgage on his home for years but it didn't stop a stranger from putting their name on the deed.

"How is this possible?" he asked CBS affiliate WFMY-TV.

Someone filed a Quit Claim Deed, according to documents, showing that a mystery person had now become the sole owner of the home, buying the property for $10 plus a filing fee.

However, the paperwork showed that the notary who signed off on it had his license revoked and the signatures didn't even match, however, it was still filed at the county clerk's office.

"At the end of the day, if you've got a clever enough criminal, they're probably gonna get away with it for a while," Jason Nelson, Chief of Staff at the Oklahoma County Clerk's office told the outlet.

The real homeowner must now prove that he owns the property in court.

"Check your property deed now," he warned to other homeowners.

This particular scam has grown in popularity throughout the US as county systems have loopholes that fraudsters can take advantage of.

While technology can make the problem easier, it also offers a solution.

Homeowners can sign up for a free Property Fraud Alert that will send them an email alert if there is a real estate transaction with their name on it.

"Put as many name iterations as you can into a system that will generate an email that goes directly to them that lets them know if any real estate transaction in our office takes place with any of those name variations," said Jeff Thigpen with the Guilford County Register of Deeds in North Carolina.

The service is provided by your state's County Land Records office and doesn't cost the homeowner anything.

This is the best way to stop a sale as quickly as possible until a more permanent solution is made.

It also allows the homeowner to know what is happening right then and there so they aren't in for a rude awakening months later.