Next? Rhode Island Is Now Proposing a Law to Stop Impersonators From Recording Deeds

A new law has been introduced in Rhode Island. If enacted, it will require anyone recording a deed to show government-issued photo ID.

County officials would gain the authority to delay recording, or report a suspicious document to law enforcement. The point? To deter would-be fraudsters attempting to take over people’s properties.

Deed theft typically involves forging a quitclaim or other deed, and recording a wrongful transfer of property. While this hasn’t been a problem in Rhode Island historically, things are changing. According to both banks and police, New England is experiencing a rapid uptick in deed crimes.

Sea Change in the World of Deeds

The Rhode Island proposal is a lot like laws currently under consideration in other places. We’re watching this as it unfolds in Arizona. Oh, and Texas too…

You might have thought proof of identity was already required to file a deed. But this was not traditionally part of the recorder’s role. In pre-Covid days, deed recorders accepted deeds that were properly filled out and notarized. Then they’d enter the legal document into the public record.

How the deed world is changing! High-tech con artists are getting better and better at forging notarizations. Can a deed recorder just take a notarized deed at face value today? More and more, the answer is no.

Tightening laws on deed fraud is one of AARP’s legislative priorities. Older adults make up a large portion of the people who lose their homes to swindlers.

The Rhode Island lawmakers who back this bill have also pointed out the vulnerability of older homeowners. Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy said in a press release: “These scams, which often prey upon older homeowners, are becoming increasingly more common.”

Kennedy’s right. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a division of the FBI that accepts public complaints about internet-assisted crimes, including theft of real estate deeds. IC3 issued a report covering incidents in 2019 through 2023. There were tens of thousands of deed fraud victims. The damage added up to well over a billion dollars. Out of the total, 224 victims were in Rhode Island. Close to five million dollars was reported lost. But total losses “are most likely much higher,” the FBI states, because “many don’t know where to report it, are embarrassed, or haven’t yet realized they have been scammed.” FBI Boston, which covers New England, has called on agents and deed holders to protect deeds.

Making Deed Fraud a Crime in Rhode Island

In addition to changing the rules of deed filing, the Rhode Island proposal aims to make deed fraud a felony. And there’s more. Here are the bill’s key provisions:

Senate Bill 2715 would:

• Make “real estate title fraud” a crime.

• Make it a felony to submit a fraudulent deed or lien to a county deed recorder. Examples included in the bill are “forged deeds, fictitious instruments, or false encumbrances on another’s property with the intent to defraud.”

• Impose sentences of up to ten years and fines up to $50,000. Make that twenty years and $100,000 for repeat offenders. A convicted person would also have to pay restitution for the harm.

• Enhance a notary’s authority to say no to notarizing a document if the customer lacks sufficient identity proof or doesn’t pay.  

• Empower county deed recorders’ offices to turn away suspicious documents from individuals  who are not title lawyers, bank representatives, or other trusted filers.

• Direct counties to implement property alert notifications by January 1, 2028. Alerts would be free to residents. The alert systems will inform owners when filings enter the public record involving their deeds.

So, the recorder of deeds will be able to halt the recording of a document from an unrecognized notary, a filing that fails to meet state or county recording standards, or a filing that is “materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent.”

The proposed law was introduced on the 27^th of February 2026.

How Tech-Savvy Thieves Take Homes

The “deed pirates” take deeds through three strategies.

Deed theft by impersonation is one strategy. The swindlers create a deed by forgery. To impersonate an innocent homeowner, these con artists scour online sources for personal and financial data. They use what they dig up to falsify documentation, or to claim they represent a homeowner so they can exploit the property.

The typical victim is an older person and the typical property is a home that’s paid off—and possibly unoccupied.

Sometimes a notary is in on the scheme to falsify documents.

The scammers transfer the deed from an innocent homeowner’s name into their own name or the name of a company.

Next, they submit the transfer to the county deed recorder’s office. Once the deed goes into the public records, the innocent owner has lost the property. Now the perpetrators can rent it out. Or they’ll sell it to a third party. Or they’ll exploit the property to apply for loans.

If an unsuspecting party gets talked into buying the real estate and takes the deed, there’s a new victim. Once the original deed holder finds out they’ve been wronged, they may try to wrestle the deed away from the innocent buyer in court.

Now, the second tactic. It targets deed holders who struggle with their mortgage balances or past-due property taxes. With the cost of fuel at extreme levels in 2026, there’s likely no shortage of potential victims.

The swindlers lure homeowners with promises of help. They assure their targets that refinancing or resolving the tax debt is possible. A desperate deed holder might agree to sign the deed over if that’s what they think will work. Unfortunately, there are dishonest actors in the mortgage relief world.

As a general rule, homeowners who find themselves in financial stress are better off trying to negotiate loan modifications with their lenders. If all else fails, a short sale can be the best way to minimize losses.

There is one more kind of deed theft you might have heard about, and it’s likely far more common than anyone knows. This is the case of someone who’s close to a senior or otherwise vulnerable homeowner—someone who takes the deed by pressure or forgery. 

How many of these victims have the money or the ability to sue the swindlers? This is why states across the country are being pressed to act. We’ll keep you posted.