Every state cabinet office in Florida has made cracking down on fraudulent schemes priority number one.
New legislation just signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis seeks to protect the privacy of Floridians who sign up for recording notification services. The bill also protects deed holders if a document has been filed to help counteract fraud.
“A lot of the scams have taken shape since covid and the schemes have gotten worse,” said Florida Attorney General (AG) Ashley Moody.
Just recently, the FBI said Florida seniors lost over $300 million to fraud in 2023. The second-highest rate in the nation for senior fraud.
Florida’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis tells consumers to never respond to emails you don’t recognize, never send money orders, never agree to send money through crypto currency.
The new bill signed by DeSantis also allows Floridians to sign up for property scam notifications. His office says the new law will make it safer for Floridians to sign up for services that notify them of a potential property scam or fraud.
Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar supports the legislation. “Those programs help counteract deed fraud, a growing problem where scammers file fake deeds to steal houses from their rightful owners,” said Kiar.
But areas where state officials are cracking down on fraud, another one rises. Both Florida cabinets, the AG’s office and the CFO’s have been warning homeowners about roof scams that could potentially cost more when it comes to property insurance.
Last week, the AG’s office sent out a press release about “jury scams” where an individual claiming to be a local officer of the courts, will call a person to let them know they missed jury duty. To avoid possible jail time, the person being scammed could make it up by paying a small fine over the telephone.
‘The scams are all over the place. This can range from emails, phone calls, to in-person scammers,’ said AG Moody.
