Officials warn of ‘growing’ home title fraud

Marcus Lucas got quite a shock when he checked on his Elnora Drive property while in Macon for a funeral early this year. 

A Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission sign led to the discovery he was a victim of home title fraud as someone filed a limited warranty deed in Bibb County Superior Court claiming Lucas transferred his 2.3-acre property to a Florida corporation for $10 in October.

Other documents show Lucas was paid $55,000, but he wasn’t.

“I’ve had so many people call about that property, especially in the last two years, people from Florida, Ocala, couple other places,” Lucas told P&Z commissioners in January. “Now I find that my property has been obtained by someone, and nobody ever talked to me about it. They said they paid $55,000 for it. I haven’t received a dime.”

Absentee or out-of-state property owners, like Lucas who lives in Minnesota, are particularly vulnerable for this kind of crime. 

“This is a growing concern across the nation,” said Capt. Dennis Terry, head of the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office Property Crimes Division. “They call it real estate fraud, deed fraud, title fraud. We call it real estate parasites.”

Crooks only need an owner’s name and a property address to begin filing fraudulent documents. In Lucas’ case, a notary seal was on the deed, but it proved to be fake. 

Fraudsters ride through neighborhoods looking for properties for sale or rent, search online property listings, and scan obituary notices to find potential targets, Terry said. 

“They can go on that website, with all the people who pass away, and they can do research and see what they own. And they can acquire these (properties) with a quick claim deed, but they can file the paperwork at the court’s office, at the clerk’s office and have it notarized. Most of the time there’s fake notaries — and it’s that easy,” Terry said.

Undoing the damage is much more difficult, and legal fees can be expensive. 

Due to the increase in these fraud cases, Bibb County Superior Court Clerk Erica Woodford drafted an “Affidavit Regarding Unauthorized Transaction on Property” document that is now used throughout the state when someone challenges a recorded deed or alleged property sale. 

Two days after appearing before P&Z, Lucas filed his affidavit with Woodford’s office stating he swears he did not authorize the sale of his property.

“That affidavit is being cross-referenced or attached to your property,” Woodford explained. “If there’s a title search done, then that affidavit will come up, and it’ll be a red flag.”

If property owners notice they haven’t received a tax bill, or a water bill, that can be another indication something may be amiss. If a water bill on a vacant property rises sharply, it could mean someone is living there unbeknownst to the owner. 

Law enforcement websites suggest you notify authorities if you suspect fraud, but simply reporting the crime isn’t enough to get your property back. Even if a suspect is identified and criminally charged, attorneys must be involved to sort out everything in civil court, Terry said. 

In one recent case in north Macon, a judge voided the fraudulent deed after reading affidavits from the true owners and the notary whose seal was copied. 

Terry knew of a former Maconite living in New York who had two houses in Lynmore Estates stolen out from under her.

“She wanted us to help her get her houses back, and we tried to explain, ‘So you’ve got to get a lawyer now.’ I mean, it causes so much problems. I thought it was easy. I file a police report, I get my house back,” Terry said. “You have to get an attorney. And it’s a great financial loss, right? People had lost thousands of dollars having their home taken from them, and paying attorney fees is not cheap.”

Proactive protection

The best way to protect your property is to be proactive and sign up for email or text alerts. 

Bibb County’s Superior Court Clerk offers a free property check for documents filed in her office. 

“It’s a free service where you can sign up and you will get notification if there’s anything filed on your property … so whether you file it, or whether the tax commissioner filed it, or the IRS or John bad actor files,” Woodford said. “You can sign up for your mom’s house, your great aunt’s house, your dead uncle’s house.”

To catch documents filed across the state, the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority offers a free registration service, the Filing Activity Notification System, or FANS, which can be accessed at fans.gsccca.org.

Those who have registered their information will be notified when real estate and personal property records containing those keywords, such as names or property addresses, are filed within the state, alerting rightful owners to begin the civil process of reclaiming property. 

Last year, following news reports of home title fraud across the state, the Georgia General Assembly also put new safeguards in place.

Woodford and her superior court clerk colleagues around the state now must obtain photographic identification cards of those who present deeds or other documents to place in the official record. 

Those who self-file also must submit to facial recognition and provide enough identifying information, whether it be a driver’s license, passport or other official identification. 

Those who do not have computers at home can use a kiosk at the Bibb County Superior Court Clerk’s Office to register, Woodford said. 

Under the new law, public notaries are required to keep a journal of each official act they perform, listing identifying information for each client that they have confirmed either through government records or personal knowledge of the self-filer. 

Notaries also are required to take classes and training before being appointed and within a month of renewing their license. 

The 2025 law also provides remedies for the legal owner who has been a victim of fraudulently recorded deeds. They can recoup their actual damages or $5,000, whichever is greater, and recover attorney’s fees in cases of fraud. 

A September AARP article warns that bargain sales and rushed closings can be “hallmarks of fraudulent sales.”

Because of that, Georgia House Bill 1292, requires realtors to disclose in capital letters when making unsolicited monetary offers on a property: “This offer may or may not be the fair market value of the property.”

If the offer is less than the prior year’s assessed value for property taxes, it must state: “This offer is less than the county assessed value for this property.”

Frauds and fakes

Fickling & Company realtor Angela Sarrell was scrolling through Facebook when she noticed a Macon house she was familiar with. The below-market price tipped her off that the home was fraudulently listed.

“They may even have certain websites for it, and someone will describe the property. And I mean, they’ve got it down to a T, like a realtor would. They’re telling you square footage. They’re telling you things about the home,” Sarrell said. “It is scary.”  

Buyers should beware of phony real estate site posts that list homes with old pictures gathered online from previous sales. 

Hearing about these types of scams makes Sarrell extra cautious when dealing with clients. 

She wants to see their driver’s license or articles of organization if the home is part of a limited liability company.

“I want to make sure that the property I’m selling these people have the legal right to do so,” Sarrell said. 

She encourages people to examine signatures on the real estate deed and look for similarities of letter design, or other identical patterns that could indicate forgery. 

On the fraudulent deed in Lucas’ case, all the signatures slanted similarly upward from the line.

Sarrell believes all homebuyers need to spring for title insurance. 

“When the closing attorney asks you if you want an owner’s policy, the answer has always got to be yes, because that owner’s policy protects you as an individual,” Sarrell said. “If somebody says, ‘Oh, that was my great-great-granddaddy’s land. Technically, that should be mine. I’m the heir,’ whatever. That policy protects you and your purchase and it is a one-time payment at closing, and it’s not very expensive.”

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation encourages victims to file a report with local law enforcement and also inform the GBI either online at gbi.georgia.gov or by calling 800-597-8477.

Sarrell encourages all property owners to be on guard. 

“It’s one of the biggest assets in life,” she said. “It could be a property that’s been handed down from generation to generation, and to lose it all over a scam? It’s not right.”

Woodford suggests making sure elderly or less computer-savvy relatives also file these protections. 

“You work hard to try to get some things and have some things for your family and then a bad actor comes and steals it from you. It’s very unfortunate,” Woodford said.