Fraud has been a big concern of businesses, individuals, and law enforcement officials. Many innocent citizens and companies have unfortunately been the victim of bad acts performed by one or more unscrupulous individuals. One area where fraud initially goes undetected is when it relates to a person's name or property. This is because a person or property owner may not know that someone has placed (or failed to remove) a “cloud” on their name or property until several months or years after it has occurred. For example, a third party may record or file a transaction associated with that person's name or property without their knowledge. The person or property owner will not know about the transaction until that person checks his/her own credit or tries to sell the property. Some examples of transactions include the failure to record or properly record mortgage satisfactions and the filing or recording of unknown or fraudulent documents, such as mechanic's liens, judgments, or other miscellaneous liens, against a person's name or property. These transactions can create a “cloud” on the person's name or property.
Significant consequences can result when a “cloud” is placed on the person's name or property. For example, the person may be subject to costly and time consuming legal issues, the person's credit worthiness or FICO score may be lowered, the person's property may be seized or sold, the property owner may be subject to higher interest rates for financing, and the property owner may have difficulty in purchasing other properties or selling the subject property. In extreme conditions, because of protracted issues, a deal may “fall out,” resulting in the seller having to find another buyer altogether. Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a system and method for monitoring events or transactions associated with a person or property.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds