Starting later this month, users will be required to register and pay a $50 annual fee for access to recorded real estate documents on Yellowstone County, Montana’s Web site.
In February, County commissioners temporarily blocked Internet access to recorded documents after two local residents complained that thieves had used the county’s Web site as part of an identity-theft scheme.
One Billings, Montana woman told commissioners that a person in New York nearly stole $48,000 from one of her investment accounts. The suspect was apprehended, but law-enforcement officers told the woman that the thief used information freely available on Yellowstone County's Web site.
After re-evaluating how much information should be made available online, commissioners decided to require users to register and pay a fee for researching recorded documents online. Lewis and Clark County and the Montana secretary of state's office have similar systems, commissioners said.
This week, commissioners have agreed to enter into an agreement with Montana Interactive Inc. to develop a password-protected system for researching Yellowstone’s property records.
The new system, which will be up and running May 27, requires a searcher to provide a user name and password and to pay a $50 annual fee for the right to research documents online.
Commissioner Jim Reno said the registration process is designed to discourage people who plan to use the county's recorded documents for illegal activities. By requiring registration, the county will have a record of who has been accessing recorded documents, he said.
Clerk and Recorder Tony Nave said indexes to real estate records can still be accessed online at no charge. Users also have the option of researching records at the courthouse, he said.
Sensitive information such as Social Security Numbers and bank-account numbers don’t appear on recorded documents. Nevertheless, experts warn that it's easy to copy a person's signature after looking up a recorded document online.
For several years, Yellowstone County has been posting deeds and other recorded documents on its Web site. The system is a convenience for real estate agents, lenders, title companies, and other professional who research recorded documents.