Fraud and safety
Protect your property from deed fraud.
Deed fraud is identity theft aimed at your home. A criminal poses as the owner to sell or borrow against a property they don’t own. Here’s how it works and what you can do, mostly for free.
How it works
The criminal finds a property, often one where the owner isn’t around. They pose as the owner using forged or stolen identification, then try to sell it or take out a loan against it, and disappear with the money. Some forge a deed and record it in their own name first.
This is called seller impersonation when it happens during a sale. Title and escrow companies watch for it, which is why we may ask owners to verify their identity in more than one way.
Properties most at risk
Vacant land
No one living there to notice a sign or a visitor.
Second and vacation homes
Owners are away for long stretches.
Rentals
The owner isn’t the one getting the mail.
Homes with no mortgage
No lender payoff to raise questions.
Homes of older or deceased owners
Fewer people checking on the record.
Free ways to protect yourself
Sign up for recording alerts
Many California counties offer free email alerts when a document is recorded under your name. Check your county recorder’s website. [verify county list]
Check the record now and then
Look up your property on the county recorder’s or assessor’s site for documents you didn’t sign.
Watch your mail
A tax bill that stops arriving, or notices about a loan you didn’t take out, are red flags.
Keep an eye on vacant property
Ask a neighbor to tell you about For Sale signs, contractors or new “owners.”
Be wary of paid “title lock” services
They mostly alert you after the fact. County alerts and your own checks do much of the same for free.
For agents: red flags on a listing
- The seller can only be reached by text or email and won’t meet or video call.
- Vacant land or a property with no loan, listed below market.
- The seller wants a quick cash sale and their own notary.
- Answers about the property don’t match public records.
- Proceeds are to be wired to a different name or out of state.
Seeing any of these? Tell your escrow officer and your title officer before the deal goes further.
Useful links
County recorder links
Find your county’s recorder and assessor sites.
Wire-fraud safety
The one call to make before sending money.
Report online fraud (opens in a new tab)
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.