Photo: CBS 12
A warning from Palm Beach County's Clerk of Court and Comptroller.
"Tis the season for scamming. Throughout Florida, people are getting fake phone calls and texts that look like they came from the counties' Clerks office or law enforcement or the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles."
Former State Representative Mike Caruso, who now serves as Clerk, says Florida ranks first in the nation for fraud reporters per capita.
He warns that scammers are targeting Palm Beach County residents because they know that people with money might become susceptible.
Caruso cites the Federal Trade Commission in saying the biggest scams involve property deeds, jury duty and traffic ticket scams.
A new campaign titled "Stop the Scams" includes public service announcements to educate residents about the growing threat of scam calls and texts.
Caruso says more than 21,000 Floridians reported scammers impersonating government agencies in the first three quarters of 2025 alone. Palm Beach County has been hit hard: since June, over 610 residents have reported fraudulent calls and texts to the Clerk’s office.
He's urging the 600,000 property owners in Palm Beach County to register for the Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller's Office Property Fraud Alert.
If there's any activity on your property deed, you'll get a text or email, alerting you that there's some activity taking place involving your property.
You can sign up at no cost by going to: MYPALMBEACHCLERK.COM/PFA.
In property fraud scams, the culprits create fake deeds so that it appears they own homes that are not theirs. The scammers then fool people into paying them money to rent or buy the homes.
