BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — As deed fraud becomes a growing concern across the nation, property owners in Alabama are being urged to take preventative measures against this alarming crime. Deed fraud, or home title theft, involves scammers using forged documents to transfer property deeds into their names, allowing them to sell the property to unsuspecting third parties.
Real estate agent Adam Yager emphasized the importance of staying vigilant. “You need some precautionary measures,” Yager said. “A lot of people don’t even know what a title commitment is. Most people if you got a notification like this in the mail, you would go I don’t know what this means. With the way the world is evolving more scams, technology I think it would be a good progressive step for Alabama.”
Eric Vitale, a senior investigator with the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office in California, noted that transnational groups are targeting vacant land. “There’s always a sense of urgency, such as a family emergency or a business emergency to get a quick sale,” Vitale said. Since April 2023, 97 properties have been targeted in his jurisdiction, some multiple times…