By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The Arizona Department of Real Estate rolled out a new program to combat deed fraud. The system, called the Early Real Estate Sales Alert System, or ERAS, alerts property owners before a real estate transaction involving their property is finalized and recorded.
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Deed fraud happens when someone illegally transfers a property title into their name using forged documents or other fraudulent means.
Rising number of complaints
Since 2024, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office has received nearly 400 complaints about real estate fraud, resulting in about 40 active criminal investigations.
A large number of those involve deed fraud. Scammers usually target vacant homes, vacation properties, or homes belonging to elderly or deceased owners.
A victim becomes an advocate
Debi Gotlieb, a real estate agent, became a victim of deed fraud involving her father’s Scottsdale home, which he had owned since 1978.
“I lost my dad’s house because a criminal pretended to be my father and called Zillow actually who was represented by realtors and put a contract together and opened escrow,” Gotlieb said. “He signed it in California where they take fingerprints, and that’s how he got caught.”
Gotlieb said the title company and Zillow did not want to return the house to her because they had another buyer.
“It only took a couple of months, it took me a couple of months and $20,000,” Gotlieb said, describing how long it took to get the house back.
Since then, Gotlieb has worked with state lawmakers and the Arizona Department of Real Estate to raise awareness about deed fraud and to help launch ERAS.
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How the new system works
Susan Nicolson, director of the Arizona Department of Real Estate, said the agency has seen criminals impersonate sellers, hire real estate licensees, and go through the titling and escrow process with buyers who had no idea they were purchasing stolen real estate.
“I saw an obvious hole in the system,” Nicolson said.
The program also encourages real estate agents to have buyers and sellers fill out a form so the system can scan for matches against registered properties.
Gotlieb said if the initiative had been in place when her father’s house was stolen, it would not have happened.
How to sign up
Property owners can register for ERAS using their name, property address, or parcel number. The state is urging people with elderly family members to sign up for alerts on those properties as well. Officials say the registration process takes less than a minute.
The county recorder’s office also offers a separate title alert program that notifies property owners by text or email after a filing has occurred. That program does not prevent a fraudulent filing from happening. ERAS is designed to alert property owners that a sale is pending, giving them an opportunity to stop it before it is finalized.
To sign up for ERAS, click or tap here.
Gotlieb has started a YouTube channel to help raise awareness.
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