Fraudsters are impersonating property sellers at an alarming rate, according to research released Monday by the American Land Title Association.

The ALTA study, which surveyed 245 title insurance professionals based in the U.S. and the Virgin Islands, found that 59% of title companies reported at least one seller impersonation fraud attempt in the prior year. That was more than double the 28% shown in the 2024 survey.

Meanwhile, 45% of firms reported at least one attempted impersonation during the month before the survey, up from 19% in 2024. Nearly a quarter of respondents noted three or more attempts, up from 4% two years prior.

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“The findings confirm what title professionals have been telling us for several years — seller impersonation fraud is becoming more common, more sophisticated and more difficult to detect,” Elizabeth Blosser, ALTA’s chief strategy, communications and innovation officer, stated in a press release.

That increasing sophistication includes the use of deepfakes, AI-generated visual or auditory media creations that can convincingly mimic a person’s appearance or voice. Nearly 60% of title professionals called deepfake technology “at least somewhat common,” though the survey did not track the frequency of deepfake incidents.

More commonly, impersonators obtain personal information about an owner, such as contact information (cited by 87% of respondents), birthdates (70%), Social Security numbers (55%) or driver’s license numbers (55%).

Like a burglar who strikes a home when the lights are out and mail is piled up on the front stoop, title fraudsters tend to target vulnerable properties.

The ALTA survey found vacant land to be the most common target of impersonation fraud, cited by 82% of respondents. Vacation homes followed at 51%, then rental properties at 48% and agricultural land at 36%.

Primary residences were cited by 25% of title insurance professionals, though that figure increased 13 percentage points from the 2024 survey.

To combat fraud, title insurers recommend a layered approach, with multiple lines of defense. The most frequently cited fraud prevention tools include:

• ID verification systems: 92%
• Contacting the seller: 90%
• Multifactor authentication of seller: 89%
• Approved notary: 88%
• Knowledge-based authentication (KBA): 86%
• Require an in-person closing: 76%

The prevalence of KBA — which asks “shared secret questions” such as, “What was the name of your first pet?” — increased 24 percentage points from the 2024 survey.   

When fraud slips through the cracks, it tends to be costly. Among the firms that disclose typical claim costs, half said payouts average more than $100,000, while just 8% cited average claim amounts below $25,000.

“The study highlights the critical role title professionals play in protecting property rights and preserving confidence in real estate transactions,” Blosser said. “In an environment where criminals are becoming more sophisticated, vigilance, expertise and layered defenses remain among the industry’s most effective tools.”