As technology advances, it's getting easier to commit title fraud and deed theft

When Bruce Phillips began his career in information security more than three decades ago, title and deed fraud looked very different.

“Back in the day, 25 years ago, it was this manual process of fraud that was hard to do, hard to accomplish, and not very lucrative because it took a lot. And [threat actors] didn't really understand the industry,” said Phillips, senior vice president and chief of information security for MyHome, a real estate technology company. Today, fraud — which typically involves a scammer transferring ownership of a property or impersonating the true owner and selling it — has advanced along with the technology.

Is title fraud increasing?

“Absolutely,” Phillips said.

Real estate fraud via identity theft is easy and inexpensive to carry out for those with access to the dark web, and it's getting harder for law enforcement to tell real identities from fake ones. “I've talked to several Secret Service agents who have seen [IDs purchased on the dark web] and go: ’They are so good.’” Phillips said.

It’s a perspective that reinforces the findings of a 2025 Deed and Title Fraud Survey from the National Association of Realtors. Sixty-three percent of the real estate agents who responded said they were aware of title fraud or deed theft taking place in their markets. Those who responded represent 43 states.

Ninety-two percent of the respondents said they were aware of scams in the Northeast, mirroring recent alerts from the Boston and Newark FBI field offices.

And it's spreading.

A lot of areas once unaffected are now dealing with fraud, Phillips said.

Metropolitan Los Angeles has faced widespread title fraud over the years, he said, so real estate professionals in the region are more used to it, he said, but “it's getting new in Boston.”

In the April alert, the FBI's Boston division — which includes all of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island — said 2,301 victims reported losing more than $61.5 million to real estate fraud:

• 262 victims in Maine lost $6,253,008.
• 1,576 victims in Massachusetts lost $46,269,818.
• 239 victims in New Hampshire lost $4,144,467.
• 224 victims in Rhode Island lost $4,852,220.

The FBI said the losses are likely higher because "many don’t know where to report it, are embarrassed, or haven’t yet realized they have been scammed."
Some of that fraud includes:

• Scammers who comb through public records to find vacant parcels of land and properties that don’t have a mortgage or other lien and then impersonate the landowner, asking a real estate agent to list the property. Homeowners whose properties have been listed for sale don’t know it until they’re alerted, sometimes after the sales have gone through.
• Family members, often older people, targeted by relatives and close associates who persuade them to transfer the property into their name for financial gain.
• Fraudsters known as “title pirates” who use fraudulent or forged deeds and other documents to convey title to a property. These scams often go undetected until after the money has been wired to the scammer in the fraudulent sale and the sale has been recorded.

Most of the cases cited in the NAR survey involved residential land: Fifty-two percent of the respondents said they were aware of scams targeting that market segment and 62% reported knowledge of fraud involving vacant tracts.

“If you own unoccupied property, whether it's just a house that's vacant or just land, you're at risk of someone stealing and selling that out from underneath you … because it's much easier to do this if nobody's actually in the property,” Phillips explained.

How can consumers and real estate professionals protect themselves? Eighty-three percent of respondents to the NAR survey seemed to favor an electronic notification system as an effective solution. Phillips recommended that property owners and real estate agents look for signs of fraud.

If someone resists an identity verification check or insists on using their own notary, those could be red flags, Phillips said.

The FBI offers the following tips for property owners:

• Continually monitor online property records and set up title alerts with the county clerk’s office (if possible).
• Set up online search alerts for your property.
• Drive by the property or have a management company periodically check it.
• Ask your neighbors to notify you if they see anything suspicious.
• Beware of anyone using encrypted applications to conduct real estate transactions.
• Take action if you stop receiving your water or property tax bills, or if utility bills on vacant properties suddenly increase.

And the following tips for real estate agents:

• Avoid remote closings, if possible.
• Ask for in-person identity checks.
• Request copies of documents that only the property owner would have. This includes a copy of the most recent tax bill, utility bill, or survey from when the property was purchased, in addition to the individual’s ID.
• Send a certified letter to the address of record on the tax bill.
• Look up the phone number by reverse search or through the phone carrier.
• Call to verify the public notary and confirm they attested to the documents.

Sometimes, protecting yourself means not rushing into a high-pressure situation, Phillip said. “It's speed that kills you.”