How to Report Deed Fraud: Police, FBI IC3, and Your Title Company
Found a deed you didn't sign? Report it in this order: county recorder, local police, FBI IC3, your title insurer and lender, a real estate attorney, then a credit freeze.
Mo Ayadi
Founder, Title Barrier | Property Fraud Prevention
By Mo Ayadi, Founder of Title Barrier | Published September 4, 2026
If you have just found a deed on your property that you never signed, report it in this order: get a certified copy from the county recorder, file a police report with the local department where the property sits, file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), notify your title insurer and any lender, retain a real estate attorney, and freeze your credit at all three bureaus. The order matters because each step produces a document or a number that the next step will ask for.
This is not a rare problem handled by a specialist desk somewhere. The FBI's Boston field office, citing IC3 data alongside ALTA, reported 58,141 victims and $1.3 billion in real estate fraud losses between 2019 and 2023. Deed fraud is a slice of that, and the agencies involved deal with it regularly. You will not be the first person to call.
What follows is the exact sequence, what each agency actually does with your report, and what none of them can do for you.
Disclosure: I run Title Barrier, a property fraud prevention company. I have a commercial interest in this topic. Factual claims are sourced so you can check them.
Before you report: confirm exactly what was recorded
You need the paper before you need the police. Go to your county recorder's website or office and search the grantor/grantee index for your name. Our guide on how to search the grantor/grantee index walks through it county by county.
Order certified copies of every document recorded against your property that you did not sign. That may be a single quitclaim deed, or it may be a deed followed by a mortgage, a second deed, and a lien. Write down for each one:
- Recording date and instrument (or book/page) number
- Names of the grantor and grantee as written
- Name, commission number, and state of the notary
- Any mailing address for the new "owner" or for tax bills
- The name of any title company or lender that appears
The notary information is more useful than people expect. Many states require notaries to keep a journal of the signings they perform, and a complaint to the notary's commissioning authority (usually the Secretary of State) often moves faster than the criminal case. If the notarization was done online, see our post on remote online notarization and deed fraud for what records exist.
Step 1: File a police report in the county where the property sits
Report to the police department or sheriff's office with jurisdiction over the property, not where you live, if those differ. Bring your ID, proof you own the property (your original deed, tax bills, mortgage statement), and the certified copies of the forged documents.
Be clear that you are reporting forgery and recording a false instrument, and ask for a case number in writing. Some departments treat this as a civil dispute and try to send you away. It is not. Forging a deed and recording it is a crime in every state, even though the statutes differ. If the front desk resists, ask for a detective in the financial crimes or fraud unit.
You need this report number for almost everything that follows. Title insurers require it. Banks require it. Some county recorders that offer a fraud flag or notation on the index ask for it as well.
Step 2: File a complaint with FBI IC3
Go to ic3.gov and file a complaint. Deed fraud almost always touches federal jurisdiction: wire transfers across state lines, forged notarizations, mail fraud on the tax bill redirect, or an out-of-state buyer or lender. Filing with IC3 does not guarantee an agent calls you, but it puts your case into the database investigators use to connect the same fraudster across counties.
Include the police report number, the instrument numbers, the notary details, and any wire or bank information if a sale or loan closed. Save the IC3 confirmation number. If money moved by wire within the last few days, say so prominently; IC3 has a recovery process that works better the sooner it starts.
Step 3: Notify your title insurer and your lender
Call the claims department of the underwriter that issued your owner's title policy. This is the underwriter named on the policy jacket, not necessarily the local agent who handled your closing. Follow up in writing the same day.
Set your expectations honestly. The standard ALTA Owner's Policy excludes matters that arise after the policy date under Exclusion 3(d), and a deed forged after you bought is by definition a post-policy matter. Many claims for post-closing forgery are denied on that basis. Our post on title insurance after closing explains the gap in detail.
File anyway. Two reasons. First, if your policy includes an ALTA 49 or 49.1 endorsement, which ALTA released in August 2025 for post-closing seller impersonation and forgery, you may have coverage. Rollout is state by state, so check your policy rather than assuming. See ALTA 49 explained. Second, the insurer must review and respond in writing, and that written response is useful to your attorney.
If you have a mortgage, notify the servicer separately. Fraudsters sometimes request payoff statements or attempt to refinance. Ask the servicer to flag the loan and require verbal verification with you on any payoff or release request.
Step 4: Get a real estate attorney involved
None of the agencies above will void the deed. The police investigate a crime. IC3 collects data and refers cases. The title insurer evaluates a policy. The county recorder, as we explain in county recorder vs. assessor vs. clerk, accepts documents that meet form requirements and does not judge validity. Removing a forged instrument from your chain of title takes a court order.
That usually means a quiet title action or, in some states, a similar statutory proceeding to declare the instrument void. Uncontested cases typically run $1,500 to $5,000 and take three to six months. Contested cases, where a buyer or lender who relied on the forged deed fights back, often cost $8,000 to $12,000 or more and can exceed a year. Our quiet title action guide covers the process.
Your attorney may also record a lis pendens (notice of pending litigation) to warn anyone searching title that the property is in dispute, and may file an affidavit of forgery where state law permits. Hire someone licensed in the state where the property is located. This is not a matter for a general practitioner.
Step 5: Freeze your credit and file with the FTC
Whoever forged your deed impersonated you to a notary, and possibly to a title company or lender. Assume your identifying information is compromised.
Place a freeze at all three bureaus. Freezes are free and can be lifted temporarily when you need them:
Then file an identity theft report at IdentityTheft.gov, the FTC's portal. It generates a recovery plan and an affidavit that banks and creditors accept. Pull your credit reports and look specifically for home equity lines or mortgages you did not open, since those may have been taken against the stolen property.
Who to notify and what each one actually does
| Who | What they do | What they do not do | What you need to bring |
|---|---|---|---|
| County recorder | Provides certified copies; some add a fraud notation or enroll you in a property alert | Remove or void the document | Your name, property address or parcel number |
| Local police / sheriff | Opens a criminal case, issues a report number | Restore your title | ID, proof of ownership, certified copies |
| FBI IC3 | Logs the complaint, connects related cases, may refer for investigation | Guarantee an agent contacts you | Police report number, instrument details, wire info |
| Title insurer | Reviews your claim under the policy and any endorsements | Cover post-policy forgery under a standard policy without an endorsement | Policy number, certified copies, police report |
| Mortgage servicer | Flags the loan, blocks unauthorized payoff or release | Fix the deed | Loan number, police report |
| Real estate attorney | Files to void the deed, records lis pendens, coordinates all parties | Guarantee an outcome or a timeline | Everything above |
| Credit bureaus / FTC | Freeze new credit, generate identity theft affidavit | Address the property itself | ID, Social Security number |
What reporting does not do
Reporting is recovery, not prevention. Every step above happens after the fraud, and the cost falls on you: attorney fees, months of process, and the risk that a lender or buyer who relied on the forged deed has a competing claim. Even a successful outcome is a bad year.
Prevention is a different layer. The FTC's August 2024 consumer alert recommended starting with your county's free property-alert program, which emails you when a document is recorded under your name. That catches fraud faster, which shortens the list above, but it does not stop the recording.
Title Barrier files a notice in the county land records. It does not pay claims and it does not stop a clerk from recording a document. It makes the property harder to move through a legitimate title search without contacting the owner. Title companies, lenders, and attorneys who search title see the notice and are instructed to verify with you before a transaction proceeds. It costs $199 to set up and $199 per year per property; details are at /pricing. The properties most worth protecting this way are the ones fraudsters target most: vacant land, absentee-owned rentals, free-and-clear homes, LLC-held property, and homes owned by elderly or out-of-state owners.
A checklist for the first 72 hours
- Search the grantor/grantee index and order certified copies of anything you did not sign.
- File a police report in the property's county and get the number in writing.
- File at ic3.gov and save the confirmation.
- Call and email your title insurer's claims department. Note the date and the name of the person you spoke with.
- Notify your mortgage servicer and ask for a fraud flag.
- Freeze credit at all three bureaus and file at IdentityTheft.gov.
- Call at least two real estate attorneys licensed in the property's state.
- File a complaint against the notary with the authority that issued the commission.
- Check with the county assessor and treasurer to make sure the tax mailing address has not been changed.
- Sign up for your county's property alert program if one exists.
Keep a single folder, physical or digital, with every case number, every confirmation, and every name. You will repeat this story many times over the coming months, and the folder is what keeps it consistent.
Closing
If you are reading this because it already happened, the sequence above is the fastest path I know to getting your name back on your property. Start with the recorder and the police today; everything else keys off those two.
If you are reading this because you are worried it could happen, start by finding out how exposed your specific property is. Our free risk report checks the factors that make a parcel a target, and you can compare the prevention options, including ours, at /pricing.
This article is educational and current as of September 4, 2026. It is not legal advice. Laws governing forged instruments, quiet title, and notary complaints vary by state. Consult a real estate attorney licensed in the state where your property is located.
Sources
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) — https://www.ic3.gov/
- FBI Boston Field Office — https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/boston
- American Land Title Association (ALTA) — https://www.alta.org/
- FTC, IdentityTheft.gov — https://www.identitytheft.gov/
- FTC Consumer Advice — https://consumer.ftc.gov/
- Equifax credit freeze — https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/
- Experian credit freeze — https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
- TransUnion credit freeze — https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
See also: What Happens If Someone Forges a Deed on Your Property? · Quiet Title Action: Cost, Timeline, and Process · 7 Warning Signs of Home Title Theft · Title Insurance After Closing: The Coverage Gap Explained
Frequently asked questions
Who do I report deed fraud to first?
Start with the county recorder to get a certified copy of the forged document, then file a report with the local police department in the county where the property is located. The police report number is required by title insurers, banks, and most county fraud units, so it should come before the other notifications.
Should I report deed fraud to the FBI?
Yes. File a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Deed fraud usually involves wire transfers, forged notarizations, or online communication that cross state lines, which puts it in federal jurisdiction even if a local department opens the initial case.
Will my title insurance cover a forged deed recorded after I bought the home?
Often not. The standard ALTA Owner's Policy excludes matters that arise after the policy date under Exclusion 3(d). File the claim anyway in writing, because some policies include endorsements such as ALTA 49 that add post-closing forgery coverage, and the insurer must review the claim before denying it.
Can the county recorder remove a forged deed?
Generally no. Recorders accept documents that meet form requirements and do not judge their validity. Removing or voiding a forged deed usually requires a court order, which is why a real estate attorney and a quiet title action are part of the reporting sequence.
How much does it cost to undo a forged deed?
An uncontested quiet title action typically runs $1,500 to $5,000 and takes three to six months. Contested cases often cost $8,000 to $12,000 or more and can exceed a year. Costs vary by state and by how many parties recorded interests after the forgery.
Why do I need a credit freeze if someone forged my deed?
Forging a deed requires impersonating you, which means the fraudster already has your identifying information. Freezing your credit at all three bureaus blocks new loans in your name, including home equity lines that might be drawn against the stolen property.
How do I know if a deed was filed on my property without my knowledge?
Search the grantor/grantee index at your county recorder's website or office for your name and the property's legal description. Any deed, mortgage, or lien you did not sign is a red flag and should be reported immediately.
