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A majority of title insurance firms—roughly 59%—encountered someone trying to sell real estate they did not actually own, at least once in 2025, according to a new study released by the American Land Title Association.
That’s a sharp rise from the 28% of firms who experienced an attempt when ALTA last conducted its survey in 2024.
Perhaps more alarming, 45% of respondents reported at least one seller impersonation fraud attempt in the last month, with 23% encountering three or more instances. That’s up from 19% and 4% respectively, compared with 2024, suggesting that this type of fraud may be becoming more prevalent.
Sometimes, the attempts are caught too late, and fraudsters are cashing in big time.
Of the respondents that reported at least one seller impersonation fraud…
Never share a One-Time PIN (OTP) with anyone over the phone, including people claiming to be bank officials, as legitimate employees will never ask for this code to “verify” your identity.