A home is a big investment and a potential asset and legacy later, but that future could be in danger, according to officials, but there are ways to protect it at no cost in many New York counties.

Deed theft is a growing problem that predominantly targets the elderly and minority homeowners, according to the state attorney general’s office. Deed theft occurs when someone takes the title, or deed, to another person’s home without the homeowner’s knowledge or approval. It has become a popular tactic used by scammers to illegally obtain ownership of a property.

Recent legislation to strengthen protections and remedies for victims of deed theft was signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Under New York laws, opportunities for prosecutors to hold deed thieves accountable for a crime are limited. Attorney General Letitia James’ office says more than 6,000 New Yorkers filed deed theft complaints over the past nine years.

Victims of deed theft often are not aware of the crime until after their property has been stolen and proceedings to evict them from their own homes have been started.

But, many New York county clerks have a free deed name registry, or fraud alert, on their websites to alert homeowners when any documents are filed in that county with their name on them.

“Any time that name would come up, my name would come up, you would get an email alert immediately,” said Cayuga County Clerk Sue Dwyer. “So, it could be somebody filed a judgement, somebody filed a deed, somebody filed all different things in our office.”

The deed theft protection laws take effect statewide on Dec. 14. Dwyer says the law should go further in criminalizing and setting up tougher penalties for the crime.