Amid rising rates of real estate fraud, a new report reveals that more than half of states lack dedicated title fraud laws.
According to EquityProtect, a property record encryption and monitoring service and a 2025 Inman Best of Proptech winner, 16 states have no laws specifically focused on deed fraud on the books, although they may be monitoring or studying the issue. Another eight states have only general fraud and forgery statutes, with no actual deed fraud laws.
In its quarterly Property Protection Scorecard, the company tracks the status of deed theft and property title fraud legislation across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
According to its Q1 2026 scorecard, Texas, Michigan, New York, Illinois, Georgia, Tennessee and Oklahoma have enacted deed fraud statutes since 2023, and eight more states currently have active bills in session — suggesting growing momentum in this area.
EquityProtect’s report showed that senior adults are disproportionately affected by real estate fraud. While they represent only 19 percent of victims, they absorb 44 percent of all dollar losses. Those losses can be exorbitant, according to the Scorecard, which reported that “reversing a fraudulent title, even in states with strong criminal statutes, costs victims an average of $50,000–$150,000 in legal fees.”
A recent Deed and Title Fraud survey from the National Association of Realtors showed that about 60 percent of real estate association leaders have seen cases of title fraud in their local market in the past year. NAR’s survey found that vacant properties are most at risk, with 62 percent of title fraud cases involving vacant parcels of land.
That survey also found that effective protocols for fighting deed fraud include electronic notification systems that alert property owners when new documentation is filed on their property, property title freeze systems to prevent unauthorized title transfers and local recorders who are empowered to flag suspicious filings and refer them for investigation.
