Quarterly report shows over half of states lack dedicated title fraud laws as losses surpass $1.3 billion and 58,000 victims fall through legal gaps
RENO, Nev.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–EquityProtect, a leading innovator in real estate fraud prevention and data security, today announced the launch of the EquityProtect Property Protection Scorecard, a first-of-its-kind quarterly report tracking the status of deed theft and property title fraud legislation across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The Scorecard — available now at equityprotect.com/scorecard — classifies every U.S. jurisdiction on a five-tier framework ranging from enacted law with criminal penalties to no legislative action whatsoever. The inaugural edition, covering state-specific data through the end of Q1 2026, reveals a national landscape in which legislative momentum and homeowner protection are not the same thing — and often not even close.
The urgency behind the Scorecard’s launch is grounded in data the FBI, the National Association of Realtors, and the EquityProtect research team have tracked for years:
- 58,000+ victims reported real estate fraud to the FBI between 2019 and 2023, with $1.3 billion in combined losses
- 9,359 complaints were filed with the FBI in 2024 alone, with $173.6 million in losses in a single year
- 16 states currently have no deed-fraud-specific law on the books, leaving millions of homeowners with no statutory protection
- 44% of all dollar losses from real estate fraud are absorbed by seniors — despite seniors representing just 19% of victims
- Reversing a fraudulent title, even in states with strong criminal statutes, costs victims an average of $50,000–$150,000 in legal fees — money most families do not have
- 1 in 3 title companies experienced at least one seller impersonation fraud attempt in 2024, according to NAR
The inaugural Property Protection Scorecard documents significant legislative activity at the state level. Seven states — including Texas, Michigan, New York, Illinois, Georgia, Tennessee, and Oklahoma — have enacted meaningful deed fraud statutes since 2023. Eight more states have active bills in session. This momentum is real and worth documenting. But the Scorecard’s central finding is more sobering: even the strongest state law in the country cannot stop a fraudulent deed from being recorded.
County recorders across the United States process nearly 300,000 documents per day. They are legally required to record documents presented in proper form. They cannot verify filer identities in real time. A fraudulent deed — forged signature, fabricated notarization, stolen identity — can be recorded within minutes of submission. Most victims don’t discover the fraud until they attempt to sell or refinance, often years after the crime occurred. And when they do discover it, a criminal statute on the books does not restore their title. It does not recover their equity. It does not pay their legal bills. Alert systems — the free county notification services that most states point homeowners toward — compound the problem by creating false confidence. A fraud alert tells a homeowner that a document has been recorded in their name. It does not stop the recording from happening.
“We built the Property Protection Scorecard because homeowners deserve to know exactly how exposed they are — not in general, but in their state and community,” said Ryan Marshall, CEO of EquityProtect. “Our findings reinforce a critical truth: legislation is an important step, but it is not protection. Most laws punish deed theft after it happens — they don’t prevent it. That gap is exactly why EquityProtect exists, and why we will publish this Scorecard every quarter to help property owners understand the difference between a law on the books and a lock on their title.”
EquityProtect’s patented SmartPolicy technology is the only system on the market that prevents deed theft before a fraudulent document reaches a county recorder’s desk. Unlike alert-based services or legislative remedies that activate after the fact, SmartPolicy works by:
- Recording a legal encumbrance on the property title at the county level — creating a documented lock that must be cleared before any transfer can proceed
- Requiring bank-grade multi-factor authentication from the verified property owner before any title change is authorized
- Monitoring in real time across public records, MLS listing platforms (Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com), rental sites, and the dark web — detecting fraud indicators before a document ever reaches a recorder
- Providing up to $1 million in legal funds per property ($3 million for portfolio holders) if fraud occurs despite all protections, with active case support through recovery
The full Scorecard, including state-by-state breakdowns, bill tracking, and the five-tier methodology, is available at equityprotect.com/scorecard.
About EquityProtect
As property fraud continues to rise, EquityProtect is at the forefront of real estate fraud prevention and data security with cutting edge technology. The company develops innovative solutions to safeguard property owners and organizations from unauthorized data modifications and fraud, ensuring the integrity and security of real estate transactions worldwide. Learn more at equityprotect.com.
About the Property Protection Scorecard
The EquityProtect Property Protection Scorecard is a quarterly publication tracking the legislative status of deed theft and property title fraud protections across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each edition classifies jurisdictions on a five-tier framework and documents developments in enacted law, pending legislation, alert infrastructure, and the technology gap that legislation alone cannot close. The Scorecard is updated quarterly and is available to journalists, policymakers, county recorders, and industry professionals at equityprotect.com/scorecard.
Contacts
Press Contact
Jacob Gaffney
Gaffney Austin
817-471-7627
[email protected]
