Seller impersonation fraud is a criminal posing as a property's owner to sell it, and the share of title firms seeing it has more than doubled in two years: in the American Land Title Association's study published on September 14, 2026, 59% of title firms reported at least one attempt in 2025, against 28% in the 2024 survey. Title companies say they most often catch it in the curative work before closing, which is after the property has been listed and put under contract. The checks that help are cheap and happen before the sign goes in the ground: speak to the owner by live video, match the owner to the county record yourself, and treat vacant land, a free-and-clear title, a remote seller and a quick sale below market as a pattern rather than good luck. In metro Detroit, the county registers of deeds also let owners register for a free alert when a document is recorded against their name.
In short
- 59% of title firms saw a seller impersonation attempt in 2025, up from 28%; 45% saw one in the month before the survey, up from 19% (ALTA, 2026).
- 25% of firms that saw an attempt also reported a paid claim, and half of those disclosing a cost put the average above $100,000.
- Vacant land is rated a common target by 82% of firms; the top red flag, a seller who avoids meetings or calls, by 89%.
- 87% of firms rated spoofed contact information at least somewhat common; 58% said the same of deepfake images or voices.
What the 2026 ALTA study found
ALTA surveyed 245 title insurance professionals in spring 2026, from 40 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The first three rows are the share of firms reporting attempts; the last is the share rating a deceased title holder at least a somewhat common red flag. The report notes the 2026 pool had more large and multistate firms than 2024, and that weighting for this did not change its conclusions.
| What firms reported | 2024 survey | 2026 survey |
|---|---|---|
| At least one attempt in the prior calendar year | 28% | 59% |
| At least one attempt in the prior month | 19% | 45% |
| Three or more attempts in the prior month | 4% | 23% |
| Title holder deceased, as a red flag | 36% | 60% |
The targets have widened. Vacant land still leads at 82%, but vacation homes (51%), rental property (48%), agricultural land (36%) and primary residences (25%) each rose by more than 10 points. Asked about ownership for the first time, firms named absentee owners (72%), properties owned free and clear (68%) and properties of recently deceased owners (55%).
The tools have changed too. Criminals were reported using birth dates (70%), knowledge of the owner's finances (60%), Social Security numbers (55%) and, in more than a third of firms, death certificates. The study describes criminals using the real owner's identification and legitimate notary credentials "applied without the notary's knowledge."
Why the listing agent is the first line
ALTA's figures show where fraud is caught: 87% of firms rated the clearance or curative stage before closing as a common point of detection, 68% signing or closing, and 42% order entry or search and exam. By then the property has been listed, marketed and put under contract. A buyer has made plans. The agent has spent weeks on a sale that was never real.
The pattern also looks like an easy listing. An owner who lives out of state, holds the land free and clear, does not need to walk through, and will take a quick offer is a normal enquiry most weeks. ALTA's red flags describe exactly that seller: avoids meetings or calls (89%), asks for a mail-away signing or their own notary (88%), a cash transaction (87%), owned free and clear (86%), a below-market price (82%), and a seller and notary in different states (70%). No single item proves anything. Three together, on land nobody lives on, is the profile.
How to check a seller before you list
- Pull the county record before the listing appointment. Confirm the owner's name, the mailing address on the tax roll and how title is held, from the county register of deeds or the assessor, yourself. Do not rely on a deed image the seller sends.
- Contact the owner at the address of record, not only the number that called you. ALTA's 2026 survey found 87% of firms rating spoofed contact information at least somewhat common. A letter or a call to a number you found independently reaches the real owner.
- Hold a live video meeting with identification on camera. Ask something that is not in the public record. ALTA rated ID verification (92%), contacting the seller (90%) and multifactor authentication (89%) as the most helpful tools, and 58% of firms now call deepfakes common, so a video call is one layer, not the only one.
- Tell the title company early when the profile fits. Vacant land, absentee owner, free and clear, below market and a remote signing is worth a sentence to the title officer before the contract, not after.
- Do not let the seller choose the notary. Requests for a mail-away signing or a seller-chosen notary are the second most common red flag in the study. Leave the signing arrangements to the title company.
- Note what you checked, and when. A dated line in the file for each step shows what was done if a question is ever asked.
The mistake most agents make at step 3
They treat a video call as proof. The 2026 study added deepfakes as a response option for the first time, and 58% of firms rated deepfake image or voice technology at least somewhat common. Separately, 77% rated a seller's atypical behaviour on calls as a common red flag. A call confirms that someone can hold up a card and answer questions. It does not confirm that the person is the owner. Pair it with steps 1 and 2, which use sources the caller does not control.
The alerts Michigan counties already run
Recording a forged deed leaves a trace at the county, and several metro Detroit registers of deeds let an owner watch for it at no charge.
- Macomb County. Fraud Guard: "Register your name and when a document is recorded with your name on it you will be notified via email."
- Oakland County. The clerk and register of deeds launched Property Records Notification in 2016, a free service to alert owners to "potentially fraudulent activity such as forged deeds and deceitful liens."
- Wayne County. The register of deeds offers a property alert and has run a Mortgage and Deed Fraud Unit with the prosecutor and sheriff since 2005, with a 24-hour hotline at (313) 224-5869. Its page reports 2,343 cases opened, 347 convictions and 393 stolen homes returned since then.
These alerts tell an owner after something is recorded, so they complement the listing check rather than replace it. They are worth a line in every seller's closing packet and every note to an out-of-state owner, particularly for Up North cabins and inherited land that sit empty. Once a real sale closes, the buyer's own filings begin, including the Property Transfer Affidavit.
For agents and teams working listings across Michigan, the real estate industry page sets out the checklist, reminder and follow-up systems we build. None of them verifies identity or insures title; that stays with the title company. A listing check that runs the same way every time is still the cheapest defence an agent has.
