Chances are you’ve been hearing about title theft from advertisements on television and radio. The question is, should you be concerned about losing title to your own home?
For anyone owning a home, there are a series of deeds which show the property, and who its been sold to over its life. These deeds are all signed in front of a notary public when ownership is changed. A notary ensures the person signing the deed is who they say they are. And the deed is recorded with the state, saying the property has been sold.
So how does someone steal the title to your home? Well, they actually forge the deed. Since they cannot sign the fake deed in front of a real notary, they use a rubber stamp kit and put a fake notary stamp on the deed, forging the notary’s signature as well as yours.
They then record the deed, which now shows in the public record. Yes, it’s fake but it looks real.
What does the title thief do now? They could sell the house but most buyers will want to access and inspect the home before purchase. Instead, it’s more likely the thief will connect with a mortgage lender and apply for a home equity line of credit or some other type of loan. They collect the money from the credit line or other loan. And then you start receiving demands for payment. By then, the title thief has the money and you’re left owing whatever they’ve borrowed against the home.
Eventually, an attorney will sort things out but you’ve had to hire them and it’s not inexpensive…not to mention the stress of having the mortgage lender trying to foreclose on your home as this goes through the legal process.
How can you protect yourself?
You can hire a service to monitor the activity on your title. Some of these services will even pay attorney fees to defend you.
You can also put your property into a trust or LLC. That doesn’t necessarily remove the risk of title theft but it does present a lot of extra hoops that the thief would have to jump through.
But the best option is probably for you to check your own title regularly. You can do so at: https://www.countyoffice.org/ny-westchester-county-property-records. From there, you can search for your property and view the deed, mortgage and ownership history of your home. If you recognize all of the entries on your home, then a title thief has not targeted you and your home. At least, not yet.
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11 Sep 2025
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Chances are you’ve been hearing about title theft from advertisements on television and radio. The question is, should you be concerned about losing title to your own home?
For anyone owning a home, there are a series of deeds which show the property, and who its been sold to over its life. These deeds are all signed in front of a notary public when ownership is changed. A notary ensures the person signing the deed is who they say they are. And the deed is recorded with the state, saying the property has been sold.
So how does someone steal the title to your home? Well, they actually forge the deed. Since they cannot sign the fake deed in front of a real notary, they use a rubber stamp kit and put a fake notary stamp on the deed, forging the notary’s signature as well as yours.
They then record the deed, which now shows in the public record. Yes, it’s fake but it looks real.
What does the title thief do now? They could sell the house but most buyers will want to access and inspect the home before purchase. Instead, it’s more likely the thief will connect with a mortgage lender and apply for a home equity line of credit or some other type of loan. They collect the money from the credit line or other loan. And then you start receiving demands for payment. By then, the title thief has the money and you’re left owing whatever they’ve borrowed against the home.
Eventually, an attorney will sort things out but you’ve had to hire them and it’s not inexpensive…not to mention the stress of having the mortgage lender trying to foreclose on your home as this goes through the legal process.
How can you protect yourself?
You can hire a service to monitor the activity on your title. Some of these services will even pay attorney fees to defend you.
You can also put your property into a trust or LLC. That doesn’t necessarily remove the risk of title theft but it does present a lot of extra hoops that the thief would have to jump through.
But the best option is probably for you to check your own title regularly. You can do so at: https://www.countyoffice.org/ny-westchester-county-property-records. From there, you can search for your property and view the deed, mortgage and ownership history of your home. If you recognize all of the entries on your home, then a title thief has not targeted you and your home. At least, not yet.