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What Do I Do If a Fraudulent Deed Was Recorded on My Property?

Use the free tool — Property Fraud Alert FL

How this scam works

Deed fraud is rising in Florida. Someone forges an owner's signature, records a fake deed or a fake lien against a home — paid-off house, vacant lot, a parent's house, or a rental — in the county's official records, and then tries to sell the property or borrow against it, sometimes before the real owner finds out.

What the law says

Recording a forged or fraudulent deed or lien against real or personal property is a felony in Florida (Fla. Stat. 817.535). A forged deed conveys nothing in law — but clearing the title still takes a court action called a quiet-title suit. If there is an owner's title insurance policy, it may cover part of that cost. This is general information, not legal advice.

If a fraudulent deed or lien is found — do this, in order

1. Do not sign anything a stranger sends.
2. Get a certified copy of the recorded document from the county clerk.
3. File a police report and keep the report number.
4. Notify the clerk's office of the suspected fraud — some clerks flag the record.
5. Notify the title insurer, if there is an owner's policy.
6. Talk to a Florida real-estate attorney about a quiet-title action and a lis pendens.
7. Alert the mortgage lender, if any.
8. Report it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and the Florida Attorney General's consumer-fraud line.

Check the deed and turn on the free alert

Start at the county property appraiser's site to see the current owner of record and mailing address (Florida Dept. of Revenue — County Property Appraisers). Then search the clerk's official records by owner name for any deed, mortgage, lien, lis pendens, or power of attorney that wasn't signed by the owner, and confirm the tax-bill mailing address hasn't quietly changed. Every Florida county clerk also offers a free alert that emails or texts when a document is recorded in a registered name — find the county through the Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers — Property Fraud Alert directory.

A parent's house, a vacant lot, or a rental

A property still in a deceased person's name is a common target for this fraud. Heirs should enroll the decedent's name in the free fraud alert now, and talk to a probate attorney or free legal aid (FloridaLawHelp.org) promptly to sort out title. For a vacant lot or inherited property, keep a visible presence, keep watching the mail, and check the record monthly. Unsolicited cash-offer mail is common and not itself fraud — but it's a sign the property is on lists that fraudsters also use.

What to do next

This free tool reads the county, the property, and what happened, in your own words, and returns the deed-lookup steps, the free alert sign-up, and — if a document was already found — the response steps in order. Nothing is stored. It is not legal advice; always confirm with the clerk's office, a title professional, or a Florida attorney.

Property Fraud Alert FL explains deed-fraud prevention and response in plain language from official Florida sources; it can be wrong, and it is not legal advice. County procedures differ — the clerk's and property appraiser's sites control. Nothing you type is stored.