What if you came home one day and your locks were changed and your name was no longer on the title?

Some nefarious criminals are literally stealing home, especially vacant property or land. But realtors are sounding the alarm to protect you from what's called deed theft and arming themselves with more education and tools to protect all property owners.

What You Need To Know

  • Many county clerks offer a free service to help you monitor and lock your deed

  • State laws were stregthened in 2023 for the Attorney General to do more to prosecute deed theft

  • Real estate agents could use a site called Forwarn to search the person to help establish true property ownership

Scammers pose as property owners to sell land and homes they don't own.

"I've been contacted through email, phone calls, texts by people, asking me to list their property for sale," says realtor Celeste Greiner. "Typically unoccupied, or it reflects an out of state or an out of country address."

Criminals are using sophisticated tactics to fool even seasoned realtors.

"They are claiming to be out of town, they can't provide documentation to prove ownership, or they can't get keys to me," adds Greiner.

Oftentimes, the real owner has no idea their property is for sale until it's too late.

"Realtors are listing the property out from under the real owners," says GSAR Educator and NYS Real Estate Broker Deana Bollinger Ingram. "Be educated on how to vet these situations."

Tips include meeting the sellers in person, verifying IDs and using services like Forewarn and mailing letters to the listed owner to confirm intent.

"Do a deed lock. These are things that you can do with the county to protect your land," says Bollinger Ingram. "And then some of the things that some people have been doing lately is putting up signs that say 'not for sale.' "

And while land in vacation homes is often the target, primary residences aren't safe, either. This scam is widespread enough that brokerages are now warning agents to slow down and do their due dilligence to be certain they are talking to the real owners.

"Do your due diligence and make sure that everything aligns," adds Greiner.

When it comes to  home stealing, it might be easier than you think. Real estate professionsal urge all property owners to monitor their records on a regular basis. Prevent fraud by keeping a mortgage on your property as a deterrent and go to your county clerk's website to sign up for alerts for your property.

In 2023, New York strengthened protections against deed theft by giving the attorney general and local district attorneys more power to pause evictions and ownership disputes during investigations. The law also expanded the list of crimes that let prosecutors cancel fraudulent sales and loans, among other changes.

You can report deed theft to the AG's office by calling 800-771-7755.