The FBI has issued a public warning about a growing fraud scheme in which criminals impersonate legitimate property owners to sell vacant land parcels they do not own, using fake government-issued identification, forged documents, and digital tools to carry out the deception.
The scheme begins with information gathering. Fraudsters obtain personal details about property owners through publicly accessible county and state websites, data broker services, stolen account credentials, phishing campaigns, or purchases made on criminal marketplaces operating on the dark web. With that information in hand, they create counterfeit driver’s licenses and passports in the legitimate owner’s name, along with disposable email addresses and phone numbers generated through internet-based calling services that are difficult to trace.
How the fraud unfolds
Armed with fabricated identity documents, the scammer approaches a local real estate agent or title company while posing as the actual property owner and initiates a sale of the parcel. In at least one documented case, a fake deed was presented to give the transaction an appearance of legitimacy and overcome any initial skepticism from the professionals involved.
Once a buyer is found and a sale price is agreed upon, the fraudster directs the proceeds to an out-of-state attorney, who is also part of the scheme and helps move the money beyond the reach of the people who have been deceived. By the time the actual property owner discovers the transaction has taken place, the money is typically gone and the legal complications surrounding the fraudulent sale can take years to resolve.
Vacant lots are particularly attractive targets for this kind of scheme because the real owners often have limited reason to monitor the property closely. Unlike a primary residence or actively used commercial land, a vacant parcel can change hands without the owner being immediately aware that anything has happened. That gap in attention is precisely what these schemes are designed to exploit.
A problem that is more widespread than it appears
The scale of the threat is significant. A study released in 2024 found that nearly 28 percent of title insurance companies reported experiencing at least one seller impersonation fraud attempt during the preceding year. That figure covers only the attempts that were detected and reported, suggesting the actual frequency of such schemes is likely higher.
Title companies and real estate professionals are frequently the last line of defense against this type of fraud, which is why the FBI’s public advisory was directed in part toward raising awareness among industry participants as well as property owners themselves. When someone claiming to be a seller initiates contact from an unfamiliar email address, requests that proceeds be sent to a third-party attorney in another state, or cannot produce consistent identification across multiple verification attempts, those are signals that deserve closer scrutiny.
What property owners can do
The FBI’s alert underscores the importance of monitoring property records regularly, particularly for parcels that are not actively occupied or managed. Many counties provide online access to deed transfer records, and owners who check periodically can identify unauthorized transactions before they are fully completed.
Individuals who believe they may be the target of this type of scheme are encouraged to contact local law enforcement and the FBI. Reporting attempted fraud, even when the effort was unsuccessful, helps authorities build a clearer picture of how these operations work and where they are most active. For vacant land owners across the country, awareness of the scheme is the first and most important line of protection.
