EquityProtect: Q2 Sees New Deed Theft Laws in Three States

(Birmingham, Ala., courtesy of K/pexels.com)

EquityProtect, Reno, Nev., released its Q2 Property Protection Scorecard, finding that three states enacted dedicated deed theft laws.

Virginia, California and Alabama all enacted new deed theft laws in Q2. That brings the total number of states with dedicated statutes to 10.

Alabama specifically enacted its new Property Protection Act of 2026, one of the nation’s most comprehensive deed fraud laws.

Virginia established statutory seller identification verification requirements for settlement agents and strengthened notary safeguards, and California confirmed enactment of SB 255, requiring statewide recorder notification by 2027.

Six states–Connecticut, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Pennsylvania–have meaningful legislation advancing through the current legislative system.

Twelve states have fraud-alert programs or pre-2023 deed fraud statutes.

Fifteen states remain in study or monitoring phases without dedicated criminal statues, but Alaska, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, Vermont and Wyoming have taken no legislative action on deed theft.

“The good news is that more states are taking deed theft seriously, and this quarter proves it,” said Ryan Marshall, CEO of EquityProtect. “But 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 do not prevent it. Property owners need preventative safeguards, not just legal remedies after the damage is done.”

EquityProtect notes that more than 58,000 victims reported real estate fraud between 2019 and 2023, representing more than $1.3 billion in losses. Seniors account for 44% of all reported dollar losses despite constituting only 19% of individual victims.

One in three title companies saw at least one seller impersonation fraud attempt in 2024, the firm reported.