Homeowners in Rye, Harrison and Rye Brook can sign up for free email alerts any time a deed or mortgage is recorded against their property in Westchester County land records. The service is open to all property owners across the county.

County Clerk Tom Roach launched the Property Alert Service on Monday, Sept. 28, according to the county. Registration is free.

The system works in three steps. Owners register a name or property address on the county's secure online platform at pas.westchesterclerk.com. When a document matching that name or address is recorded with the clerk's office, the owner gets an email. The owner can then review the filing and decide whether to act.

The service targets deed fraud, which the FBI says is rising. The bureau reported that 58,141 victims lost a combined $1.3 billion to real estate fraud between 2019 and 2023, according to its Internet Crime Complaint Center. In those schemes, fraudsters forge documents to transfer ownership of a property, then sell it, take out a mortgage or rent it out before the real owner catches on.

The FBI specifically recommends that landowners set up title alerts with their county clerk's office as a protective measure.

Roach said in the county's announcement that the clerk's office and the Westchester County Department of Information Technology had been building the system since January. In January, Roach told Westfair Communications his office was exploring an electronic notification tool. "We are now exploring a way to use an electronic version of that, which would immediately trigger a message alerting you …" he said at the time.

County Executive Ken Jenkins endorsed the launch. "Property owners should have an easy way to know when activity involving their name or property appears in our land records," Jenkins said in the county's announcement.

New York strengthened its legal tools against deed theft in July 2024, when a state law made the crime a form of grand larceny and gave the Attorney General's office authority to prosecute cases alongside district attorneys, according to the AG's office.

The county's alert system does not replace an official title search or legal advice, the program's website notes. It is a monitoring tool, not a guarantee.

Registration is open at pas.westchesterclerk.com.