{This is a guest post.}

You throw your mortgage statement in the garbage, like you always do. Along with it, you throw out some junk paper from your desk — you know, the stuff that’s been sitting in a pile since April. Little do you know that in about six months, you’re going to get a foreclosure notice from a second mortgage that you never knew you took out. Welcome to the world of real estate identity theft.

To some extent, you might think that a house would be safe from scammers. After all, while you might not notice a stolen credit card, you probably would eventually see someone squatting in your guest room. It isn’t the house that really matters, however. It’s the trail of computer files and recorded documents that represent ownership in the property, loan balances and equity. That information is just as subject to identity theft as any other information. To some extent, it’s even easier to steal, since criminals already start out with your name, address and bank account details. With that information, criminals can take out mortgages in the owner’s name or even steal the house.

The FBI tracks housing scams and thefts. One scam is to create fraudulent documents where “you” deed your property to them. They can then sell your house out from under you — telling prospective buyers that they can’t tour it because “renters” live in the house. Once the house sells, the scammers pocket the money and the buyers and you are in for a nasty surprise. Another scam occurs when scammers use your ID to open a false bank account, go to a bank, get a second mortgage, and deposit the check in the bank account. You get stuck with the debt, and they cash out the account and abscond with the money.

Here are some tips that help your learn all about id theft methods and protect yourself during any transactions:

• Always shred financial documents. Mortgage statements, credit card statements and anything with social security numbers should always be destroyed before they go out in the garbage.
• Don’t sign anything regarding your house unless it’s related to a transaction that you started and you understand its implications.
• Check the licenses and BBB rating of anyone that they deal with for transactions involving their home.
• Avoid anyone that calls them out of the blue to “help” them. Whether it’s a credit repair firm or a foreclosure prevention outfit, most of them are at-best ineffective and, in many cases, may be fronts for identity thieves.