A survey from 2025 shows that to date, deed fraud in Arizona reached $50 million! The most likely target is vacant land. About 6 months ago, I received a call from an agent with a "referral" from somoene will to sell some land. The agent gave me the name and phone number of the person and the address of the parcel in North Scottsdale. The phone number wasn't local and the person never answered the phone. He texted me - my first clue that this person wasn't legit. The land in Scottsdale was valued at about $750,000 at the time.
After researching and finding the actual owner of the land on our tax records, I figured out quickly that whoever was trying to sell this land was NOT the owner. Locating a phone number for the current owner of the land, I called and introduced myself and told him that someone was trying to sell his land. HIs comment, "They can't sell it wintout the deed." I explained to him that someone could sell a piece of land even without the printed copy of a deed as that was public information. I can search and locate deeds to property in Arizona. I gave the man my name and contact information in case he had any questions.
Texting the number for the fraudster, I told him that he was not the owner and could not sell the land. My clues that this person was a fraudster even without researching the parcel information:
- The phone number didn't have the number of digits to be a US phone number.
- The caller never called me back.
- The caller communicated by text only.
- And there was no identifying information provided that he was who he said he was.
Vacant land is the most common property type for deed fraud as it's largely unmonitored, but any type of property is suscetible. But, homes without mortgages are equaly as susceptible due to the absence of the lienholder. A way to stop and prevent deed fraud is to log into EarlyAlert and register for notification should someone try to transfer a deed for property that you own! Protect yourself! Visit: https://earlyalert.azre.gov/
