Paul Dictos, photo by Cecilia Lopez

For as long as there’s been property, there’s been property theft. But a growing type of property theft — one that threatens owners in a unique and life-altering way — has a new hurdle to cross before criminals are able to strike thanks to a local county office’s efforts to notify victims before it’s too late.

A homeowner in the state of California is required to provide an average of 108 signatures and initials to close on a property sale. That said, Fresno County Assessor-Recorder Paul Dictos, CPA, said that all it takes is one document from criminals seeking to forge a transfer of property, allowing the crook to do anything from selling the home (without the actual owners knowledge), to taking out a mortgage or even renting the property to tenants.

The way criminals are able to transfer all of that information at once is through a means more often used for completely legitimate transfers of property between family members — quitclaim deeds.

Quitclaim deeds are one-page legal documents that allow transfer of ownership. Crooks can take advantage of this without the homeowner’s knowledge.

That’s where Dictos and the Fresno County Assessor-Recorder’s office comes in, offering an online notification service if crooks do take aim on your property.

The program — the Property Owner’s Protection Alert (POPA) — provides users notification when a fraudulent title is filed. Dictos said that while the office cannot prevent crime from happening, the POPA system will send copies of fraudulently filed documents to owners who have signed up.

“The only true protection against title theft is buying a specific type of policy known as Homeowner’s Policy of Title Insurance,” Dictos said. “All big title insurances now offer this 

While POPA notifies users of potentially fraudulent activity, the Assessor-Recorder’s office cannot file a claim directly; that still falls on the property 

“If the property owner detects suspicious activity, he or she is advised to immediately contact the District Attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Unit before the crooks mortgage or sell their property,” Dictos said.

Dictos added that the Fresno County Assessor-Recorder’s office is one of just four California Assessor-Recorder’s offices to offer such a program.

Currently, Dictos said the program, which was launched in late 2024, has just under 1,600 users. Dictos added that a similar program in Los Angeles that recently launched has just over 50,000 users — for a region with more than 18 million residents. He said the initially slow growth is to be expected and something that will hopefully see more users take advantage of as the program continues to operate.

Users can sign up for POPA free of charge at the Assessor-Recorder’s website by clicking the “Property Owner’s Protection Alert” link and following the steps to create an account. Once registered, the office notifies users of alerts by providing them with images of any documents transferred under the owner’s name.

For as long as there’s been property, there’s been property theft. But a growing type of property theft — one that threatens owners in a unique and life-altering way — has a new hurdle to cross before criminals are able to strike thanks to a local county office’s efforts to notify victims before it’s too late.

A homeowner in the state of California is required to provide an average of 108 signatures and initials to close on a property sale. That said, Fresno County Assessor-Recorder Paul Dictos, CPA, said that all it takes is one document from criminals seeking to forge a transfer of property, allowing the crook to do anything from selling the home (without the actual owners knowledge), to taking out a mortgage or even renting the property to tenants.

The way criminals are able to transfer all of that information at once is through a means more often used for completely legitimate transfers of property between family members — quitclaim deeds.

Quitclaim deeds are one-page legal documents that allow transfer of ownership. Crooks can take advantage of this without the homeowner’s knowledge.

That’s where Dictos and the Fresno County Assessor-Recorder’s office comes in, offering an online notification service if crooks do take aim on your property.

The program — the Property Owner’s Protection Alert (POPA) — provides users notification when a fraudulent title is filed. Dictos said that while the office cannot prevent crime from happening, the POPA system will send copies of fraudulently filed documents to owners who have signed up.

“The only true protection against title theft is buying a specific type of policy known as Homeowner’s Policy of Title Insurance,” Dictos said. “All big title insurances now offer this policy.”

While POPA notifies users of potentially fraudulent activity, the Assessor-Recorder’s office cannot file a claim directly; that still falls on the property owner.

“If the property owner detects suspicious activity, he or she is advised to immediately contact the District Attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Unit before the crooks mortgage or sell their property,” Dictos said.

Dictos added that the Fresno County Assessor-Recorder’s office is one of just four California Assessor-Recorder’s offices to offer such a program.

Currently, Dictos said the program, which was launched in late 2024, has just under 1,600 users. Dictos added that a similar program in Los Angeles that recently launched has just over 50,000 users — for a region with more than 18 million residents. He said the initially slow growth is to be expected and something that will hopefully see more users take advantage of as the program continues to operate.

Users can sign up for POPA free of charge at the Assessor-Recorder’s website by clicking the “Property Owner’s Protection Alert” link and following the steps to create an account. Once registered, the office notifies users of alerts by providing them with images of any documents transferred under the owner’s name.

Dictos added that users should take advantage of POPA, noting that several other internet security companies charge up to $300 annually for similar programs

Dictos added that users should take advantage of POPA, noting that several other internet security companies charge up to $300 annually for similar programs.