Tag: deed fraud
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Struggling With Your Mortgage Payments in a Harsh Economy? Not All Promises of Help Are Legit.
There are deep problems in the U.S. housing economy—including for deed holders. And today, for many households coping with inflation, oil price surges may be the last straw. This financial pressure will likely create many more targets for the grotesque business of promising mortgage relief in order to snatch equity from homes. You might have…
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Deed Theft News: Brooklyn Case Shows Why Facts Matter
It’s called deed theft, title fraud, house stealing, or title piracy. At its simplest, it involves the recording of a deed or other property document that appears to transfer ownership without the true owner’s permission. In some cases, criminals forge signatures, impersonate owners, or use false identities to record documents that appear valid on their…
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NYC Opens First Office to Fight Deed Theft
It is the city’s first office dedicated to deed theft prevention. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has just formed the Mayor’s Office of Deed Theft Prevention for New York City. What’s deed theft? It’s the taking of a home by shady paperwork. The culprits falsify deeds and notarizations. Then they record the falsified documents. Additional forms of…
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Tennessee Deed Fraud Law Update
If you hang your hat in Tennessee, watch out for a potential law that changes the way deeds are submitted and verified. Somebody nearly stole Elvis Presley’s Graceland home in Memphis through deed fraud. Brent Taylor, a Republican State Senator in Memphis, says such activity is what lawmakers want to “put a stop to.” When…
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Five Key Steps To Protect Senior Deed Holders From Scams
Older homeowners, especially those whose mortgages are paid off, can be targeted for deed theft. The crime involves someone else pressuring a vulnerable senior or forging documents to gain control over the property’s value. But good, timely planning can protect the senior—and, ultimately, protect the senior’s heirs in turn.
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Operation Hard Money: How a Team of Mortgage Scammers Exploited Los Angeles Seniors Through Title Fraud
The FBI recently arrested 11 people in Los Angeles. The investigation involved people who went after more than $17 million in deed theft, say prosecutors. To get that money, they repeatedly attempted financial fraud. The swindlers allegedly took over the titles to their victims’ homes so they could exploit them for loan collateral. Older adults…
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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…
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End Deed Fraud! Florida Tests ID Rule, California Requires Alerts
Real estate prices keep rising. A home title is increasingly valuable. For people who specialize in deed fraud, deed records might as well be pots of gold. These smooth operators are on the lookout for properties they can control, sell, or use to obtain loan or rent money. What happened to the days when a…
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Is a Cash Real Estate Buyer Trying to Rip You Off?
Making a cash sale is about working with someone who’s ready to buy your home without needing a mortgage to do it. Without a financing contingency, a cash sale is a simple, reliable, quick process. Or is it? Sad but true: Scammers, posing as would-be cash buyers, are out there. All-cash home sale scammers want…
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Keeping Ahead of the Deed Snatchers, From Albany to Honolulu
Your deed is precious. Just ask anyone who may have lost theirs to criminals. We’ve recently seen multiple governments responding to deed crimes. Actions span the country, from Albany to Honolulu — and places in between. Here’s what’s new, and what might keep a frightening fate from befalling your deed.
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Sell a Home You Don’t Own? Here’s How They Do It in Scottsdale
Here’s a true story about seller impersonation that landed in the news during the first week of 2026. The story starts with an owner of a home in Arizona getting an alert from the local deed recorder’s office of Maricopa County. Uh oh. The recorder’s office was notifying the deed holder that the title to…
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A First in the Nation: Cuyahoga County to Install Two-Factor Authentication for Recorded Documents
Could the party be over for deed thieves in Cuyahoga County, Ohio? Home to the beautiful city of Cleveland, it will soon be the first U.S. county to offer two-factor authentication for the recording of legal documents. This is a milestone in the effort to stop fraudulent deed transfers. To explain the forthcoming change, we…
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Deed Theft Update: Disbarred Lawyer Jailed in New York
The New York Times reports that Sanford Solny, convicted in June in the Supreme Court of Brooklyn (pictured in banner photo), is now in jail. Solny is a disbarred lawyer and real estate investor charged with stealing New York City homes. He is now in jail for probation violations. “It’s about time,” said Lisa A.,…
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Why Would Scammers Collect Recordings of a Real Estate Pro’s Voice?
The short answer: to create voice impersonations for future fraud. Most people look to real estate professionals when buying or selling a home. Imposter agents can do tremendous damage. We’ve already discussed AI-enabled deed fraud. Voice-cloning raises the stakes. Here’s the latest.
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Get Up to Speed: Updated Guide to AI Fraud in Real Estate Deals
With home values as high as they are now, it’s no wonder swindlers target people involved in deed transactions and mortgages. High-stakes scammers tend to be smooth operators. Smoother than ever, with artificial intelligence (AI). So it’s good to know the warning signs, and investigate concerns when in doubt. Read on for a quick view…
