Owning real estate in Boston, Natick, and the surrounding suburbs is a solid investment—but like any asset, your home isn’t immune to scams. And unfortunately, property fraud is on the rise.
Scammers have figured out ways to forge deeds and “sell” homes they don’t own or take out loans against someone else’s property. It sounds like something that could never happen to you—until it does.
Thankfully, Massachusetts has a free fraud alert service through the Registry of Deeds. It’s a simple way to get notified if someone files documents in your name, so you can catch fraud before it turns into a legal nightmare.
Real Cases of Property Fraud in Massachusetts
I know this sounds like a one-in-a-million kind of crime, but it’s happening right here in our own backyard.
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Someone almost stole a Plymouth homeowner’s house by filing fake paperwork at the Registry of Deeds. If it hadn’t been caught in time, the owner could have faced a legal mess trying to reclaim their own property. A similar scam happened in Concord just a week earlier, with a house built on a lot that the builder did not own. CBS Boston
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Scammers “sold” land in West Yarmouth, listed by a Rhode Island broker, that they didn’t even own. This was the third fraud case in Massachusetts in just a short time. The buyer thought they were getting a great deal—until they realized the seller had no legal right to the property. CBS Boston
Imagine waking up to find out your house was “sold” without your knowledge or that a bank thinks you took out a massive loan against your home. Undoing that kind of fraud is a long, expensive battle.
How to Protect Yourself
As brokers, we and the attorneys we recommend, are vigilant about confirming ownership and the identities of the sellers of land and non-owner-occupied proeprty. But the best way to prevent these scams? Sign up for the free Consumer Notification Service through the Registry of Deeds. If someone records anything under your name, you’ll get an email alert so you can act fast.
Here’s where to sign up:
- Statewide Service: cns.masslandrecords.com
- County-Specific Alerts (some counties have their own systems):
- Norfolk County: norfolkdeeds.org
- Plymouth County: plymouthdeeds.org
- Suffolk County: massrods.com
It’s completely free, takes less than five minutes to sign up, and could save you months (or even years) of legal trouble.
Final Thoughts
As real estate brokers and investors in the Greater Boston area, we’ve seen a lot of strange things happen with property ownership. While real estate in Massachusetts makes a great long-term investment, you have to protect what’s yours.
This fraud alert service is one of the easiest ways to do that. And if you ever have questions about buying, selling, or protecting your home, reach out—we're happy to help.