How to Prevent Deed Fraud

You’ve probably seen the advertisements on TV, or maybe received mail, stating that you could lose your home to a scam called title fraud or deed fraud. Many homeowners question whether this is something they need to be concerned about and if there’s something they should do something to prevent it.

Deed fraud happens someone fraudulently transfers the ownership of a property to themselves by forging the owner's signature on a Quitclaim Deed and recording it with the county, essentially "stealing" the property title without the legal owner's knowledge or consent. This allows them to sell the property or take out loans against it without the rightful owner ever knowing about it.

While deed fraud is something you should be aware of, it doesn’t pose an imminent threat to most homeowners. The criminals engaged in deed fraud often target vacant homes or vacation homes, especially if the owner is deceased. It is very rare that a thief will use deed fraud to “steal” an occupied single family residence.

So how can you prevent deed fraud, or at least lessen your chances of becoming a victim? First, take common sense steps to secure your online accounts and protect your identity. There are also outside companies that claim to have sophisticated algorithms to catch deed fraud, but the reality is that there’s no way to catch it until a deed is recorded with the county. You will end up paying up to $200 for them to simply monitor the country recorder’s office and alert you when a deed is recorded.

A less expensive option is to sign up for “Title Alert” from the Maricopa County Assessor’s office by going online to: https://Recorder.Maricopa.Gov/MaricopaTitleAlert/. It essentially does the same thing as these outside companies, but it’s free. Both solutions will alert you via email or text message only *after* a deed is recorded on your property, but taking quick action if this were to occur will increase the likelihood that you stop the thieves. If you ever receive an alert of a deed recording that you are unaware of, you should alert local law enforcement and the AZ Attorney General’s office immediately.