Real estate fraud prevention service provider EquityProtect has launched the Property Protection Scorecard, a quarterly report that monitors deed theft and property title fraud legislation across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The scorecard categorizes every U.S. jurisdiction on a five-tier scale, with rankings ranging from jurisdictions that have enacted laws with criminal penalties to regions with no legislative action on deed fraud at all. The first edition includes data through the end of Q1 2026 and highlights a disparity between legislative progress and actual protection for homeowners.
According to EquityProtect, the need for the scorecard arises from alarming statistics gathered by the FBI and the National Association of Realtors, as well as the EquityProtect research team. Between 2019 and 2023, more than 58,000 victims reported real estate fraud to the FBI, resulting in losses of $1.3 billion. In 2024 alone, there were 9,359 new complaints totaling $173.6 million in losses.
Sixteen states have no specific laws against deed fraud, leaving many homeowners unprotected. Seniors, who make up only 19 percent of fraud victims, absorb 44 percent of total financial losses, according to EquityProtect. Victims face average legal costs between $50,000 and $150,000 to resolve fraudulent titles, an amount most families cannot afford. Additionally, one in three title companies reported attempts at seller impersonation fraud in 2024.
The scorecard highlights that while seven states, including Texas and New York, have passed significant laws against deed fraud since 2023, even the strongest laws cannot completely prevent fraudulent deeds from being recorded. County recorders handle nearly 300,000 documents daily and cannot verify the identities of filers in real-time, allowing fraudulent documents to be recorded swiftly. Most victims only learn about the fraud when trying to sell or refinance their homes, often years later. Additionally, existing laws do not rectify their situation or cover legal expenses.
“We built the Property Protection Scorecard because homeowners deserve to know exactly how exposed they are — not in general, but in their state and community,” Ryan Marshall, CEO of EquityProtect, said in a release. “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 don’t prevent it. That gap is exactly why EquityProtect exists, and why we will publish this Scorecard every quarter to help property owners understand the difference between a law on the books and a lock on their title.”