Deed Fraud Resources

This page provides comprehensive information about deed fraud and what you can do to protect your home.

What is Deed Fraud?

Deed fraud happens when someone takes or tries to take ownership of real property through fraud, forgery, or other deceptive means. These can include the recording of fraudulent deeds, mortgages, or other liens against a property without the owner’s knowledge or consent. The most common paths include forgery, where a thief fakes the owner’s signature and files a deed, and fraud, where the owner is deceived to sign papers that give away rights in the property without their knowledge.

How Scams Work

1. Forged documents and false filings
A scammer may create or record a false deed, mortgage, or related document without the owner’s knowledge. The owner may discover the problem only after seeing an unfamiliar filing, a notice, or a change in who appears to own the property.

2. Foreclosure-rescue and mortgage-default scams
A homeowner in financial distress may be promised help avoiding foreclosure, fixing a mortgage problem, or getting current on payments. The real objective may be to get the owner to sign away the deed.

3. “New mortgage” or refinancing schemes
A homeowner may be told that another person needs to take out a new mortgage on the property to pay off the old one and solve the default. In reality, the paperwork may transfer ownership or create rights the homeowner never intended to give.

4. Inheritance and title-gap exploitation
Deed thieves often target homes where the owner has died and the heirs never legally transferred title. It’s important for families to make sure that wills are clear and deeds are updated after someone inherits the property.

5. Vacant-property exploitation
Scammers often target abandoned or empty properties, properties in foreclosure, or properties with tax or utility liens. To protect vacant homes, owners should check them often and avoid letting mail or debris pile up.

Promises that should make you stop and get advice
• “Sign this and we can save your home.”
• “Transfer the deed for now and buy it back later.”
• “You do not need your own lawyer.”
• “You have to sign today.”
• “Pay this upfront fee and we will get your mortgage fixed.”

3. Warning Signs

You are asked to sign a deed to your property when you are not intentionally selling your home.
You are asked to sign a deed as part of a supposed short sale or mortgage-relief arrangement.
You are asked to sign a deed because someone says they will take out a new mortgage to cure your default or pay off your old mortgage.
Someone appears at your property and claims to own it, even though you never sold it and do not know of any legitimate transfer.
You stop receiving property tax bills.
You stop receiving water bills.
A property tax bill arrives in another person’s or company’s name.
A utility bill arrives in another person’s or company’s name.
You receive a recorded-document alert even though you did not authorize any filing.
You discover a deed, mortgage, lien, or notice filed against your property that you do not recognize.
Someone pressures you to sign quickly or discourages you from talking to your own lawyer or family.
Someone promises a guaranteed loan modification or guaranteed foreclosure rescue.
You are asked to pay upfront fees for mortgage-relief or foreclosure-rescue help.
The owner of a family home has died and title was never formally transferred to the heirs.
A home is vacant, neglected, or easy for someone else to control. Even if you have not signed up for alerts, you may still catch fraud by checking the public record, reviewing your tax and water bills, and paying attention to unexplained changes in ownership-related paperwork. A notice of pendency is also a public filing that can affect title or possession and may be searchable through the Kings County Clerk.

4. Who is at Risk?

Any homeowner can be a victim of deed fraud. But scammers often target seniors, immigrants, and people of color, as well as properties that appear vulnerable. Vulnerable properties include abandoned or empty homes, homes in foreclosure, homes with tax or utility liens, and homes where the owner has died and title has not been properly transferred. Homeowners in gentrifying neighborhoods whose homes have risen sharply in value are at elevated risk as well.

Scammers look for confusion, stress, absent owners, gaps in family planning, and properties that appear easier to control on paper than in person.

5. How to protect yourself and your loved ones

Check your property record regularly, at least once a year. [NYC ACRIS]
Sign up for the Notice of Recorded Document Program so you are alerted when certain deeds, mortgages, or related documents are recorded. [Click Here]
Make sure the Department of Finance has the correct mailing address for you or the person who should receive notices.
Treat it as a warning sign if property tax bills or water bills stop arriving.
If utility bills suddenly change or increase in a way that makes no sense, look closer.
Do not sign a deed unless you are intentionally selling or lawfully transferring the property and fully understand the transaction.
Never transfer ownership without advice from your own lawyer.
Do not use a lawyer referred by someone who may have an interest in your property.
Be skeptical of anyone who promises to save your home from foreclosure or let you buy it back later.
Avoid upfront fees for loan-modification or foreclosure-rescue help.
Read everything. Never sign anything you do not understand completely.
Keep mortgage, tax, and utility payments current if you can, and seek counseling from a reputable provider quickly if you cannot.
If the property is vacant, check it often, arrange for someone trustworthy to watch it, and do not let mail pile up.
Keep your will clear about who should inherit the property.
When a family member dies and someone inherits the property, update the deed promptly.
Consider title insurance where appropriate.
Discuss major property decisions with trusted family members or your own attorney before adding or removing someone from a deed, or taking out a new mortgage, reverse mortgage, or second mortgage.
If you are worried about succession and do not have a will, ask a lawyer whether a transfer-on-death deed is appropriate in your situation. These deeds can help reduce title confusion after death.

6. Civil or Criminal?

Losing a home, being pressured into a bad transaction, or discovering that something happened to your property that you did not expect can be devastating. People often come to us feeling cheated, misled, exploited, or overwhelmed, and those feelings may be completely justified. In some cases, the conduct may be a crime. In others, it may involve a civil dispute, a title issue, a foreclosure or lending problem, a family or co-owner conflict, or a transaction that felt unfair or predatory but does not violate criminal law.

That distinction is important, but it does not mean the harm is minor.

A situation can cause serious financial and emotional damage even if our office cannot bring criminal charges. When conduct is not something we can prosecute, there may still be other legal remedies, government resources, or civil options available.

Matters that may involve criminal conduct
• Forged signatures on deeds or other property documents
• False filings intended to transfer ownership or borrow against a property
• A scheme in which a homeowner is tricked into signing over ownership
• Deceptive foreclosure-rescue or mortgage-relief schemes intended to take title or equity
• Conduct that may amount to larceny, offering a false instrument for filing, criminal possession of stolen property, or related fraud
• Fraudulent documents used to try to remove the owner, take possession, or cloud title

Matters that may be civil, title-related, or outside a criminal case
• A dispute between co-owners
• A partition action or partition sale
• An inheritance or probate issue that requires title correction
• A contractual dispute over ownership or transfer terms
• A foreclosure sale carried out through lawful process
• A title dispute that requires civil litigation but does not involve fraud or criminal intent

7. What to do if you suspect criminal deed fraud

1. Act quickly.
Do not assume the problem will fix itself. Fraud in the public record can cause cascading harm if it is not addressed quickly.

2. Gather your documents.
Collect deeds, mortgage papers, property tax bills, water bills, notices, utility statements, letters, emails, texts, and any papers you were asked to sign. Keep everything.

3. Review the public record.
Check ACRIS to see whether a deed, mortgage, lien, or other document has been recorded that you do not recognize.

4. Get a copy of the suspicious document.
If you believe a document is potentially fraudulent, you should get a certified copy of the document through ACRIS or by visiting the City Register.

5. Write down what happened.
Make a timeline. Include names, dates, phone numbers, email addresses, addresses, and what you were told.

6. Report the matter to the New York City Sheriff’s Office.
You should immediately report suspected fraud to the Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff accepts deed-fraud reports online, by phone at (718)707-2100, by mail, and by fax.

7. Report suspected criminal conduct affecting Brooklyn property to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.
Our Housing Justice Hotline is available to assist you at (718) 250-3335, or you can report suspected housing fraud to us online here.

8. Contact an independent attorney immediately.
If you believe you have been a victim of fraud, you should also contact an independent attorney. DO NOT rely on a lawyer recommended by someone who may have an interest in the property.

FAQ

Q. Can deed fraud happen even if I never intended to sell my home?
A. Yes. Some deed-fraud schemes involve forgery. Others involve deceptive paperwork that causes a homeowner to sign away rights without understanding what they are signing.

Q. What is the fastest way to spot a problem?
A. Check the public record regularly, sign up for recorded-document alerts, and pay attention if tax bills or water bills stop arriving or arrive in another name.

Q. Should I still get a lawyer if I report the matter to the District Attorney’s Office?
A. Yes. Reporting suspected crime is important, but homeowners may also need civil legal help to protect ownership, possession, title, equity, or inheritance rights.

Q. What if someone is trying to evict me based on a fraudulent deed?
A. Tell your lawyer immediately. New York law now provides stay protections in several deed-theft-related situations, including good-faith government investigations, filed criminal charges, government civil actions, and bona fide title disputes.

Q. What if the homeowner has died?
A. That can create risk if title was never properly transferred. It is important for families to address inheritance and deed transfer issues promptly.

Q. Can I put someone else on the alert program for the property?
A. Yes. The Notice of Recorded Document Program can notify eligible designees, including an owner’s agent, attorney, managing agent, lien holder, or an executor or administrator of an estate.