Tips on how to spot fake titles

MANILA, Philippines - Selling fraudulent certificates of title remains one of the most widespread scams in the country. BFS (Bahay Financial Services), the country’s only mortgage servicer and special asset management company, shares some pointers on how to avoid falling prey to scam artists and making sure the certificates of title are genuine. 

The transfer certificate of title (TCT), the Registry of Deeds’ (RD) copy and the owner’s duplicate should be identical in all aspects, including capitalization, punctuation marks, erasures and even typos. For reference, ask for the Registry of Deeds’ original copy and compare with the owner’s duplicate.

The last two or three digits of the TCT number should be identical to the page number. The serial number (SN) of the title as arranged in the registry book should be consecutively numbered. Government agencies keeping a record of the serial numbers assigned to each registry are the Land Registration Authority, Land Management Bureau and the Department of Agriculture.

The owner’s duplicate copy of the certificates of title has the word ‘Owner’s Duplicate’ and a red seal. The original copy does not contain either of these. All judicial forms do not blot or stain the paper when the red seal is wet.

With the case of year indicators, the year when the judicial form was used or revised should be before the date when the title was issued, except in cases of reconstituted titles.

Whoever signed the preceding and succeeding titles should appear as the only person who executed and signed the other titles issued. It should be the current Registry of Deeds, DENR Secretary, RED/PENRO or DAR official at the time of the indicated signing in the province or city where the plot of land is located.

Just like when identifying legitimate money from fake ones, the form shows obvious watermarks that cannot be duplicated by any means.

The TCT also sports a decorative border called the Intaglio which is a design, figure, or ornamentation carved, engraved, or etched into the surface of the material used.

Upon closer inspection of the TCT, fibers of the paper material used in the forms are observable. Different colored circular patterns are also seen on a legitimate TCT. These are called planchettes and they serve a special purpose.

For e-titles, a computerized judicial form contains a judicial form number, control number, a bar code, as well as a watermark security feature.

Safeguard your hard-earned money from scam artists by being meticulous and scrutinizing every detail of a TCT.  Also make sure that the person from whom you are buying land is reputable.  Ask a lot of questions about the land, and if you suspect that the seller is committing fraud, notify authorities immediately.

To date, BFS has resolved more than 30,000 highly-defaulted home loan accounts and provided homes to more than 150,000 Filipinos.

Balikatan account holders may visit any of the BFS offices in Makati, Alabang, and Davao.  They may also call BFS through trunkline 756-6230, call the Davao office direct through (082) 221-0809, or call PLDT toll-free outside of Metro Manila and Davao through 1-800-10-2255-BFS (237).  BFS is also reachable through text at 0922-9999-BFS, via email at [email protected], and real time online by accessing www.bfs.com.ph and clicking on B-Online.  Customer service is reachable through [email protected].