Philadelphia’s Deed Fraud Cases Have Surged 15% This Year

The city of Philadelphia has received 152 reports of deed fraud so far in 2026, almost matching the 159 reports filed by the end of the year in 2025, according to the city’s Department of Records.

That puts the city on pace to exceed last year's deed fraud total by roughly 15%. Deed fraud occurs when a scammer illegally transfers a home or property into their name without the rightful owner’s permission.

The crime often involves forged signatures and fraudulent documents. Once a document has been recorded, the fraud can go undetected and take years to be corrected.

After someone has fraudulently acquired the property, they can sell it, transfer the ownership to yet another person, or take out a mortgage or loan against the property.

"Deed fraud is going on in a really big way, but there is a small number of cases that are being caught," Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner told WCAU-TV.

Deed fraud often targets elderly homeowners and owners of multiple properties who aren’t regularly monitoring their filings.

“The people who do it are getting inside information that a senior who has owned a house for a long time is ill or has passed away. And then based upon that, they will try to close in on the house," Krasner said.

While the District Attorney’s Office could not provide the number of deed fraud cases it has prosecuted to the local outlet, Krasner believes that the problem is larger than the reported cases suggest.

WCAU spoke to a Philadelphia resident Elaine Garcia, who experienced deed fraud firsthand.

After her brother’s death in 2022, Garcia expected to inherit his home on North Randolph Street in Philadelphia. However, his caretaker remained in the home and told Garcia that her late brother had given it to him.

To Garcia’s surprise, a new deed had been recorded just months before her brother’s death, which added the caretaker to the property for just $1.

After seeing the document and her brother’s alleged signature, she knew that something wasn’t right. She reported her suspicions to the authorities. One year later, the caretaker was arraigned and pleaded guilty to financial exploitation of an older adult or care-dependent person. The home was returned to Garcia, who wanted to share her experience as a cautionary tale for other families.

“You have to report it. ... You can't let this go on," she told WCAU.

While the reported cases of deed fraud have increased nearly 30% this year, Philadelphia Records Commissioner James Leonard said it does not necessarily mean the crime is happening more.

The city has made efforts to make reporting fraud easier, which could account for the higher number, he said.

“I'm not surprised that we're seeing more reports as we've encouraged more people to do so, and made it simpler for them to file over their phone if they'd like or on a tablet from their home versus having to make the trip to City Hall," Leonard told WCAU.

In addition to providing more avenues for reporting, the city has held educational seminars and offered a free service called Fraud Guard to help residents prevent becoming victims of deed fraud.

Fraud Guard alerts property owners if a document containing their name is recorded with the Department of Records.

"It will give you an email alert if a document's recorded in our office with your name on it, and then you can click on a link in your email and view that document to determine if you think it might be fraud," Leonard said.

The service is free to Philadelphia property owners. While it may not prevent fraud from occurring, the alert system allows owners to be made aware of activity involving their mortgage in case it is fraudulent so that steps can be taken immediately.

Realtor.com reached out to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and Department of Records for a comment but did not receive an immediate response.