Giuliani-endorsed anti-fraud service faces scrutiny over questionable crime claims

On Tuesday, ABC News ran a story analyzing the dubious claims made by "Home Title Lock," a Rudy Giuliani-endorsed security company that has deluged the airwaves with ads featuring right-wing celebrities urging people to protect themselves against a supposed wave of fraudulent home title transfers.

"The prolific ads urgently warn of a scam called 'home title theft,' when a con artist fraudulently claims ownership of someone else's home to swindle lenders or even sell the property," reported Mike Levine. "In several commercials, Giuliani, Gingrich and other pitchmen claim the FBI classifies home title theft as 'one of the fastest-growing' crimes in America. Some marketing materials also showcase people who've been identified as 'real victims' — a 'devastated' Texas cowboy and a Florida-raised grandmother whose 'heart-wrenching story of losing her rightfully-owned home is occurring all too often nationwide.'"

Home Title Lock sells policies for $200 a year to allegedly monitor people's home titles, the deeds proving their ownership of their property, and alert them to any changes that occur.

"But the FBI told ABC News it can't find any evidence that the agency ever described home title theft as one of the fastest-growing crimes," said the report. "In fact, while some local officials said title theft is quite prevalent in their areas, many other local authorities contacted by ABC News indicated that the crime is rare for them."

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Furthermore, the report says that court records reveal interesting facts about the "real victims" featured in the ads, known as "Jeff" and "Debra".

"Court documents show that Jeff McFatridge, now 55, lost his home in Hillsboro, Texas, after at least two judges — one federal, one state — rejected claims he made against banks and others when they tried to foreclose on the property. 'This is not a complicated case,' the federal judge wrote in 2013. '[He] has not paid his mortgage in three years,'" said the report. "In the case of 'Debra,' it was her daughter -- not some unknown cybercriminal -- who sold the home while acting on her mother's behalf with 'power of attorney,' according to court testimony. Court records show that in the months before the sale, Debra Savoie-Glass, now 65, wasn't regularly living at the Florida home, but her daughter and grandchildren were."