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After a scamGuide

Someone Is Selling Your Vacant Land. What to Do Right Now

A title company asks about a sale of land you never listed. How seller impersonation works, the calls to make today, and what to do if a deed is recorded.

Social Engineering Scams editorialPublished 6 min read
Black and terracotta linocut of an empty lot with survey stakes, a For Sale sign with blank face and a sealed envelope in the foreground
Original editorial illustration. Not a photograph or evidence of an individual incident.

The call might come from a title officer asking you to confirm closing details, or from a neighbor who saw a sign on the lot you inherited. You never listed the land. Someone pretending to be you did, and the next few days decide how hard this is to unwind.

The schemeImpostors pose as owners of vacant land and try to sell it through real agents and title companies, according to an FBI alert of June 16, 2026.
Why vacant landNo one lives there to notice. In NAR’s 2025 deed and title fraud survey, 62% of reported title fraud cases involved vacant land.
First callThe title company or agent handling the sale. Tell them you are the owner and did not authorize it.

The FBI’s public service announcement on parcel owner impersonation describes three phases. Criminals gather an owner’s personal details from public county or state websites, data brokers, stolen accounts or phishing. They create fake IDs and email addresses and use internet phone numbers. Then they approach realtors and title companies, draft contracts as the “owner,” and in at least one case used a fictitious deed to add credibility. The sale money is directed to an accomplice elsewhere.

None of that requires your involvement, so none of it is a lapse on your part. Public land records are public by design.

How an impostor sale usually runs

Stage What happens Where an owner can step in
Listing The “seller” contacts an agent by email, text or internet phone and asks to list the lot, often below market for a fast sale (FBI) A sign appears, or the parcel shows up on listing sites. A neighbor or a buyer may call you
Contract A buyer signs; the seller refuses to meet in person and knows little about the property (FBI) The title company opens a file in your name. The FBI suggests buyers send a certified letter to the address on the land tax record, which is how some owners first hear
Closing Documents are signed remotely or notarized in unusual ways, sometimes abroad (FBI) If you hear about it now, the closing can usually still be stopped
Recording A deed is recorded with the county A county recording alert can tell you within days
Payout Proceeds go to an account in another name or another state (FBI) The buyer, their title insurer and law enforcement chase the money

If the sale has not closed yet

  1. Call the title company and the listing agent today. Use numbers you look up yourself, not ones in an email that mentions the sale. Say you are the owner of record, you have not listed the property and you do not consent to any sale.
  2. Put it in writing. Follow up by email and, if possible, a letter, with a copy of your ID and a recent property tax bill. Ask the title company to note the file and confirm it will not close.
  3. Ask what they hold. Request copies of the listing agreement, contract and any signed documents. The email addresses and phone numbers the impostor used are useful to investigators.
  4. File with the FBI. The PSA asks for complaints at ic3.gov with the contact details used in the scheme, any bank account information for the proceeds, and the names of attorneys, brokers or others involved.
  5. Report locally. File a police report with the department where the property sits, and tell the county recorder or clerk.

Questions to ask the title company or agent

Title officers and agents who have just learned their seller is not the owner are often as alarmed as you are. These questions get you the information that matters:

  • When was the file opened, and who made first contact: the “seller,” a buyer or another agent?
  • What email addresses, phone numbers and mailing addresses did the seller use?
  • Has anyone signed closing documents? If so, who notarized them, and where?
  • Has any money moved, including an earnest money deposit, and to which account?
  • Has a deed or any other document been sent to the county for recording?
  • Who is the buyer’s agent or attorney, so you can tell them directly?
  • Will you confirm in writing that the file is on hold because the owner of record disputes the sale?

The FBI’s alert lists warning signs that title professionals watch for: a seller who communicates only by email, text or internet phone and refuses to meet, pushes for a rushed closing, knows little about the land, or asks for international wires or payment to accounts in other names. Mentioning those signs can help a hesitant officer act quickly.

Do not let urgency change who you talk to

After a near-sale, you may get calls from people offering to “protect your title” for a fee or to recover money. Verify anyone new through the county, your own title insurer or a lawyer you choose. The same caution appears in our guide to recovery offers after a loss.

Owner checklist for this week

  • Sign up for county recording alerts. The FBI suggests asking your County Recorder, Register of Deeds, appraisal district or County Clerk whether they send an automatic email or text when a document is recorded in your name. Boulder County, Colorado, for example, runs a free Property Alert email service, and notes that it only notifies; the clerk cannot verify whether documents are legal or accurate.
  • Find your owner’s title insurance policy. The FBI says owners’ policies may cover the legal costs of clearing title and restoring ownership. Call the insurer and open a claim, even if nothing has closed.
  • Check every parcel you own. Inherited or out-of-state lots are easy to forget. Search each one in the county’s online records.
  • Ask about local protections. NAR’s October 2025 report on “title pirates” says some states, such as Arizona, Indiana and South Carolina, use title freeze systems, and that recorders in states including Michigan and Washington can flag suspicious filings. Ask your county what applies.
  • Keep your contact details current on the tax record, so a cautious title officer can actually reach you.

If a deed has already been recorded

This is the harder branch, but the law is on your side. Illinois Legal Aid Online’s real estate fraud questions explain that the real owner still owns the property; a fraudulent deed “clouds the title and usually requires a court case to clear.” It lists the usual routes: a quiet title action, a declaratory judgment to cancel the fraudulent deed, and in some cases a slander of title claim. Those cases are filed in the county where the property is located, and state procedures differ, so speak to a real estate attorney there.

In the meantime, report the recording to the county recorder and police, file at IC3, and notify your title insurer in writing. Write down when and how you found out, because dates matter in court. If construction has started on the lot, tell the buyer and their title company directly; they are victims too, and their insurer may become your ally.

Fake sellers are not only a land problem. Property owners who rent out homes face a related trick, covered in what to do when someone copies your rental listing.

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