Residents receiving letters offering to retrieve their property deed for $59.50 may not know that the same service is available for a small fee through the county, said Cayuga County Clerk Sue Dwyer.

Dwyer said several residents have already come to her office asking if the letter they received from New York Record Retrieval was legitimate.

“This is nothing more than a scam and a quick way to make money off of the hardworking residents of Cayuga County,” Dwyer said.

“There is no reason a Cayuga County resident would need to reach out to a third party to obtain a certified copy of their deed from my office.”

According to the Web site for National Deed Services Inc., which owns New York Record Retrieval and several other firms in different states, the services offer to save people the time and aggravation of waiting in line to get their deed.

The company promises to mail the deed within 30 to 60 business days and will accept credit card payments.

Dwyer said she can do the same service in nearly two minutes, and that paying by check is better to prevent identity theft.

“Residents can also go online to landaccess.com and click on Cayuga County to get their deed for $5,” Dwyer said.

Dwyer said residents will rarely need their deed unless they are getting a mortgage or changing the name of the property owner in the event of a death or divorce.

Dwyer also said the tricky part about the letters is that they are not illegal because of a clause that states, “Many government records are available free or at a nominal cost from government agencies.”

“No, it's not illegal, they are offering a service, but it does blur the moral line,” Dwyer said.