It's great to have you here on the Clark Howard Show.

You know, our mission is to serve you with advice and information that empowers you

to make better financial decisions in your life.

In today's episode, you may have heard ads or seen them online for services that provide

title lock coverage if you're a homeowner. Does that work? Is it worth paying a subscription

for title lock? And also, you know, the economy is going into a lower gear. We're experiencing more

layoffs, more people looking for work. There's something you need to know if you suddenly are

thrust out there having to look for a new job. So new warning from the FBI about the problems people are having with title theft.

I want to explain what this is, I don't want to make you paranoid, I want to make you aware,

and I want to put you in charge and in control. So criminals are taking advantage of the fact that there are roughly a third of

American homeowners who own their homes free and clear.

What a deal, right?

Owning it free and clear.

So what criminals are doing in the most common thing they're doing

against your title is they are setting up a false identity, as if they're you, identity theft,

and then applying for a home equity line of credit or a mortgage against your home.

First thing you know is you might have bills start showing up from a bank or credit union

mortgage company saying you owe your mortgage or home equity line of credit.

The fake borrower is gone with the wind,

having borrowed money against your title. That's the most common thing. I'll get the second one in a

minute. So this is happening because if you think about how property records are handled so haphazardly and

differently in all 50 states and all jurisdictions responsible for title records and all the states

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