What is Title Theft?

Title theft is a form of identity theft where a criminal targets a property and forges the owner’s signature on a deed to transfer ownership to themselves or a third party. Criminals often target properties that are free and clear of any mortgage or liens, focusing on second homes, rental units and vacant properties. They tend to leverage stolen personal information, use fake IDs to impersonate homeowners, or even work with unethical notaries to make the transaction appear legitimate. Once they’ve gained control of your title, the criminal can not only sell the home to an unsuspecting buyer, but they can also do any of the following:

• Secure new loans against the property, such as a home equity line of credit (HELOC).

• Refinance the mortgage to cash out equity.

• Rent out the property illegally.

These situations can result in overwhelming debt, significant credit harm and even unlawful foreclosure or eviction, typically requiring months or years of costly litigation to resolve.

If you are the property owner selling a property, the goal before closing is to make sure that you are actually the person authorizing the sale, the title is correct, the transaction instructions are legitimate, and no unauthorized deed or lien has appeared in the record.

What the owner should verify before closing

1. Verify the preliminary title report

Ask for and carefully review the preliminary title report (or title commitment) before closing. Confirm:

• Your name is shown correctly as the owner.

• The legal description matches the property you are selling.

• All existing mortgages, deeds of trust, liens, easements, and other encumbrances are identified.

• There are no unexpected deeds, liens, loans, or transfers that you don’t recognize.

• The vesting—how you legally own the property—is correct.

For a significant property, I would not simply rely on someone saying “title is clear.” Review the actual title report.

2. Confirm exactly who is handling the closing

Know the identity of:

• The title/escrow company

• The escrow officer

• The title underwriter

• Your real estate broker/agent, if applicable

• The buyer and buyer’s representative

Independently verify contact information rather than relying solely on an email that could potentially have been compromised.

If something about the transaction changes suddenly—particularly wire instructions, escrow instructions, or requests to send documents somewhere new—stop and independently verify it by telephone.

3. Verify the payoff information

If there is an existing mortgage or other lien, obtain and review the payoff information.

Be particularly careful with wire instructions. Real-estate wire fraud is a separate but closely related threat. A criminal who compromises an email account can potentially send fraudulent payoff or proceeds instructions.

A good rule is: Never change wiring instructions based solely on an email.

Call the escrow/title company using a telephone number you independently know to be legitimate and verbally confirm the instructions.

4. Verify the deed before signing

You should know exactly what deed you are signing and what it does.

Review:

• Your name as grantor

• The buyer’s legal name

• The legal description

• The vesting requested by the buyer

• Any special language or unusual provisions

Don’t sign a document you don’t understand simply because someone says it’s “standard.”

For a substantial property, having your attorney review unusual documents can be worthwhile.

5. Verify that no unauthorized activity has occurred

Before closing, check the county’s property records again if there is any reason for concern.

Look specifically for:

• Recently recorded deeds

• Quitclaim deeds

• Deeds of trust

• Liens

• Assignments

• Reconveyances

• Other documents that you did not authorize

This is especially important if the property is vacant, a second home, held in an LLC/trust, or otherwise not occupied by the owner.

6. Verify the title insurance coverage

Don’t just ask, “Do I have title insurance?”

Ask the title company:

“What owner’s policy will I receive, and what coverage do I have for forgery, impersonation, and fraudulent transfers?”

If appropriate, specifically ask about the applicable ALTA forgery/seller-impersonation endorsements, such as ALTA 49 or ALTA 49.1 mentioned in the article you provided.

The exact coverage matters because title policies have exclusions, conditions, and different forms of coverage.

7. Verify the closing statement

Before signing the final documents, carefully review the settlement statement/Closing Disclosure or equivalent escrow statement.

Verify:

• Purchase price

• Credits

• Commissions

• Property taxes

• Title and escrow charges

• Loan payoffs

• Other liens/payoffs

• Prorations

• Amount of net proceeds coming to you

If the numbers don’t match your understanding of the transaction, don’t sign until the discrepancy is explained.

8. Verify where your proceeds are going

This is one of the most important steps.

Your proceeds should go to an account that you have independently confirmed with escrow.

If you receive an email saying: “We’ve changed the seller’s wire instructions.”

Treat that as a potential fraud attempt until independently verified.

For a large transaction, I would go beyond email and personally speak with the escrow officer using a known telephone number.

9. Make sure the title company knows about anything unusual

Tell the title/escrow company immediately if:

• Your name has changed.

• Ownership is through a trust or LLC.

• Another person has authority to sign for you.

• You have a power of attorney.

• There has been a recent death of an owner.

• There is a divorce or estate issue.

• You recently refinanced.

• You have discovered an unfamiliar document in the county records.

• Someone has contacted you claiming an interest in the property.

These circumstances can materially affect how the title company needs to document the transaction.

10. If you’re selling a high-value or unusual property

For a large acreage property, ranch, estate, or other high-value property, I’d add another layer of protection:

Have your own real-estate attorney review the transaction before closing.

That is different from relying solely on the title/escrow company. The title company is protecting the insurability of title and administering escrow; your attorney is representing your interests.

The simplest pre-closing checklist

If I were the owner, my “don’t close until verified” list would be:

• Preliminary title report reviewed

• Legal description confirmed

• Ownership/vesting confirmed

• No unexplained deeds or liens

• Existing loan payoffs verified

• Closing/settlement statement reviewed

• Deed reviewed

• Buyer and transaction terms confirmed

• Title insurance policy and relevant endorsements confirmed

• Escrow officer independently verified

• Wire instructions independently verified

• Net proceeds confirmed

• Any unusual ownership or signing circumstances disclosed

• Attorney review completed if the transaction is unusually large or complicated

The biggest practical takeaway: don’t focus only on whether the property is “clear to close.”

Before signing, independently verify title, the deed, the money, and the people involved in the transaction.