Home Fraud Defense

Home Fraud Defense Home Fraud Defense™ advances the standard in real estate fraud prevention.

The HFDCP™ designation equips professionals to identify wire fraud, deed theft, AI scams, and seller impersonation—protecting clients, transactions, and reputations.

09/04/2026

Two people called me to sell property they did not own. I recorded both calls.

The first man said he owned a piece of vacant land in Phoenix and wanted to close fast. He could not tell me if the land had ever been surveyed, and the county records put the owner in a different city than the one he said he was calling from. The real owner had no idea his land was for sale.

The second call was about a vacant house that had supposedly been inherited. The owner could not come to the phone, so someone else spoke for her. The people on that call are now in prison.

I am sharing the audio because these calls are what fraud actually sounds like. Not dramatic. Polite, a little vague, and in a hurry.

If you own a vacant lot, a rental, or a house you inherited, two free things take five minutes. Sign up for the Arizona Department of Real Estate's Early Alert System at earlyalert.azre.gov, and sign up for your county recorder's title alert. Both notify you if a document is recorded against your property.

I wrote something that got published this month, and it is a strange one to be proud of. ARELLO is the association that ...
09/01/2026

I wrote something that got published this month, and it is a strange one to be proud of.

ARELLO is the association that state real estate regulators belong to. Their September publication carries a case note I wrote about a seller impersonation attempt that came at me in August. Someone called about a vacant parcel that was not for sale, claiming to own it, wanting a fast cash close and a signing three states away. He was not the owner.

That was the second impersonation attempt aimed at me in under ten months. The first one ended in an arrest and multiple convictions. In the same stretch I also documented a senior romance scam I was able to intercept.

None of the three reached a closing.

I wrote it up because the part nobody teaches is what you actually do on the day the call comes in. Do not confront them. Call law enforcement first. Save everything exactly as it came in. Find the real owner yourself and tell them.

Agents are usually the first person to see one of these, during a transaction and long after it closes. Knowing the steps is what made the difference all three times, and that is exactly what I built Home Fraud Defense to teach.

Any state agency can reprint the piece and hand it to their licensees for free. No permission needed.

Next stop is Maui, September 15 to 17, sponsoring the ARELLO conference.

HomeFraudDefense.org
Association of Real Estate License Law Officials Arizona Department of Real Estate John Thomas Rowan

08/31/2026

Audio of a real "Seller Impersonation" call August 2026 to my office.

Attempted theft of $2.5 million lot Phoenix AZ.

Learn the red flags at HomeFraudDefense.org.

In Arizona -- make sure you sign up for ERAS - Early Real Estate Sales Alert System. It notifies you when an escrow officer enters pending real estate sales information into the alert system and enables you to notify the Department should you believe the sale to be fraudulent.

Register your property for free in minutes.

Association of Real Estate License Law Officials Arizona Department of Real Estate John Thomas Rowan

Two hours live training and CE credit in Arizona, no charge, and one of them is the mandatory deed fraud legal issues ho...
08/30/2026

Two hours live training and CE credit in Arizona, no charge, and one of them is the mandatory deed fraud legal issues hour. Course CE18336

Grow your business!
Learn the latest events targeting the real estate business.

We go through what fraud looks like inside a real transaction right now: wire redirection at closing, seller and buyer impersonation, deed and title fraud, and the calls your client starts getting the week after they close.

Wednesday, September 9, 2026, 10:00 AM to noon Arizona time, live on Zoom.
One hour legal issues, deed fraud, mandatory.
One hour general real estate.

Open to agents, brokers, team leaders, transaction coordinators and office staff. Bring your questions.

Nearly 1 in 4 homebuyers reported getting fraudulent or suspicious communications during their closing (CertifID 2026 State of Wire Fraud Report).

Sign up: www.HomeFraudDefense.org/brief

Home Fraud Defense is an ADRE-approved real estate fraud education school, License S25-0019.

ALERT: Arizona brokers and agents.Arizona has launched ERAS, the Early Real Estate Sales Alert System, at earlyalert.azr...
08/28/2026

ALERT: Arizona brokers and agents.

Arizona has launched ERAS, the Early Real Estate Sales Alert System, at earlyalert.azre.gov. Learn what it is now, because your clients are going to ask you about it.

Here is what it does. A homeowner registers their property. If a pending sale comes in that matches it, the state alerts them before the transaction is finalized and recorded.

The difference from what already existed is the timing. Your county recorder's title alert notifies an owner after a document has been filed, which means the damage is already done and the owner is now forced to clear a forged deed. ERAS is built to reach the owner while the sale is still pending.

Sign up for both. They catch two different moments.
Registration takes about a minute, using a name, a property address, or a parcel number.

Deed fraud targets vacant homes, second homes, and properties owned by elderly or deceased owners. Since 2024 the Arizona Attorney General's Office has received nearly 400 real estate fraud complaints, with roughly 40 active criminal investigations (Arizona's Family, August 27, 2026).

What you can do this week:
Walk every closing client through it before they leave the table. Let them register on their own phone.

Reach out to past clients. This is a real reason to call, and you are not selling them anything.

Tell them to register their parents' home. The state is specifically asking people to sign up properties belonging to elderly family members.

Free. State-run. earlyalert.azre.gov
Arizona Department of Real Estate

Someone can forge a deed to your house, record it, and try to sell or borrow against a home you still live in. Most peop...
08/27/2026

Someone can forge a deed to your house, record it, and try to sell or borrow against a home you still live in. Most people never hear about it until it happens to them.

I met this week with Arizona Real Estate Commissioner Susan Nicolson and Deputy Commissioner Mandy Neat on an updated version of the deed fraud class. It covers the new law, the tricks being used right now, how to spot a problem early, and who to call once money has moved or a document has been signed. Real estate is a top target for fraud both during and after a closing. This updated Deed Fraud template will replace the current mandatory training in Arizona for all licensed Real Estate Agents.

If you own a home, there are a few free things worth doing:

Sign up for your county recorder's free alert. Every Arizona county has one now. You get an email when a document is recorded in your name.
Sign up for the new Early Real Estate Sales Alert System at AZRE.gov

Check whether your address is listed for sale or rent somewhere you did not put it.

Be careful with any last minute change to wiring instructions during a closing. Call the number you already have, not the one in the email.

We put free tools and plain-language guides at homefrauddefense.org. No account, no ads, nothing to buy. Share it with anyone who owns a home, especially older family members. They are the ones being targeted.

I was one of five people interviewed for a new Business Insight article about getting ahead of fraud instead of cleaning...
08/27/2026

I was one of five people interviewed for a new Business Insight article about getting ahead of fraud instead of cleaning up after it.

My part is about real estate, but the advice applies anywhere. Fraud runs on urgency. Someone tells you the wiring instructions changed, the closing moved up, the money has to go today. That pressure is part of the method.

Here is the whole protocol. Wait 24 hours. Then call a number you already have for that person, not the number in the email or the text, and ask them directly.

If you have a closing coming up, or a parent who owns a home, this one is worth five minutes.

08/22/2026

Make sure you know the facts before you sell your home “subject to” the existing mortgage. Get the facts at homefrauddefense.org/subto
Arizona Department of Real Estate Association of Real Estate License Law Officials

08/22/2026

Know the facts before you sell your home “subject to” your existing mortgage.

08/21/2026

The Greenlee County Assessor's Office is now running a deed fraud education video in their lobby.

Most people learn about deed theft after it has already happened to them. Greenlee decided their property owners should hear about it first, on a screen in the room where they are already standing.

Deed theft works by targeting property nobody is watching. Paid-off homes. Vacant land. A place someone inherited and drives out to twice a year.

The video covers three things any Arizona property owner can do:

1. Sign up for your county's title alert. It is free, and it tells you when something is recorded against your name.

2. Make sure public records show your correct mailing address, on every parcel you own, including land.

3. Before you sign anything about your property, tell one person who is not part of the deal.

None of those three stop a fraudulent filing from being recorded. What they do is shorten the time between the filing and the day the owner finds out, and that gap is where most of this gets caught or missed.

If you own property in Arizona, or you know someone who does, those three steps are worth five minutes.

Thank you to the Greenlee County Assessor's Office for getting out in front of this one.
Association of Real Estate License Law Officials Arizona Department of Real Estate John Thomas Rowan

Address

7865 W. Bell Road #1070
Peoria, AZ
85382

Telephone

+18555522863

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