Don't Fall for this "Certified Deed" Scam
John Tamboer
October 29, 2019
Beware of offers to deliver a "certified deed" or other government records.
My client's sister recently passed away. In the course of handling her sister's estate, my client received this letter from a company called the "National Record Service, Inc.". She was prepared to send $59.50 to obtain a "certified deed" to her sister's home. Fortunately, before my client sent a check, I informed her that she doesn't need a certified deed for any reason, and that she could obtain a copy of the deed for a few dollars from the register of deeds' website.
Apparently this scam is fairly widespread. The Michigan Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division recently issued a Consumer Alert
to warn of similar scams being conducted across the state. As the Attorney General's office points out, you don't need a third party service to obtain government records for you. Worse yet, a third party cannot "certify" a government record as this letter seems to indicate.
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