Seller-impersonation fraud (SIF), in which criminals pose as owners to sell or mortgage property they do not own, is accelerating across U.S. real-estate markets, according to the American Land Title Association’s (ALTA) May 2024 Seller-Impersonation Fraud Survey.
ALTA reports that 28 % of title companies experienced at least one SIF attempt in 2023, and 19 % faced an attempt in a single month (April 2024). Fraudsters targeted non-owner-occupied assets most often: 85 % of incidents involved vacant land, while vacation homes and rentals each accounted for 37 %. Common red flags included all-cash transactions (88 %) and mail-away signings with an unfamiliar notary (86 %). Even when schemes were intercepted, 16 % of firms paid related claims in 2023, highlighting the financial stakes.
Conventional title-monitoring services typically trigger alerts only after a deed or lien has been recorded, notifying stakeholders once the transaction is already on the public record.
In response, cybersecurity startup Title Barrier announced an AI-powered monitoring platform that continuously analyzes multiple listing services and more than 40 major real-estate websites, including Zillow, ForSaleByOwner.com and Realtor.com, for unauthorized property listings. The system compares new listings against protected parcels and issue real-time alerts to registered owners or their representatives, enabling intervention before closing.
“Criminals can complete a fraudulent sale with forged identification in days,” said Mohamed Ayadi, founder of Title Barrier. “By applying AI matching to live listing data, our platform surfaces potential impersonation attempts the moment they appear online, giving title professionals time to act.”
Early detection complements, rather than replaces, traditional title-insurance coverage, which typically responds after documents have been filed. Proactive monitoring aligns with ALTA’s call for earlier fraud-interception measures.
About Seller-Impersonation Fraud
Seller-impersonation fraud occurs when a perpetrator falsely represents ownership in order to sell or mortgage real estate. The crime disproportionately affects vacant land, investment properties and seasonal homes, where routine oversight is limited.
About Title Barrier
Founded in 2025, Title Barrier is a proptech cybersecurity company that leverages artificial intelligence to provide early detection of seller-impersonation fraud. The platform monitors residential and commercial listings nationwide and notifies authorized stakeholders if a listing appears without their consent.
For more information, visit TitleBarrier.com.