The schemes that come up most
Real estate scams often target homeowners who are older, who inherited property, or whose houses sit vacant. Deed theft involves a forged or fraudulently obtained deed transferring the property, sometimes followed by a mortgage or a sale to a third party. Closing wire fraud works by hijacking email among buyers, agents, and attorneys, then sending new wiring instructions just before the funds move. Some schemes involve fake foreclosure rescue offers that ask owners to sign over title. New York has paid particular attention to deed theft, especially in New York City, and prosecutors and courts both have tools to address it.
Alerts, records, and a fast bank call
If closing funds were misdirected, call your bank immediately to request a recall and report it to the FBI's internet crime portal, since speed affects whether funds can be frozen. For a suspected deed theft, obtain copies of the recorded documents from the county clerk or, in New York City, from the city's online land records system. Property owners in New York City can sign up for alerts when documents are recorded against their property. Keep the original deed, tax bills, mortgage statements, and any letters you received, and do not sign anything from someone offering to fix the problem for a fee. Notify your title insurer if you have a policy.
Undoing a transfer
Setting aside a forged or fraudulent deed usually requires a court action, often called a quiet title action, and it may run alongside a criminal investigation by a district attorney or the state Attorney General. Where a new mortgage or a sale to a later buyer is involved, the claims become more complicated, and the title insurers on each side often become involved. For misdirected closing funds, recovery depends on how quickly the receiving account was frozen and whether any party in the transaction had a duty that was breached. When you contact us, we review the recorded documents, the timeline, and what has been reported so far. From there we decide which proceedings to start and in what order.
