Preventing Deed Fraud. A Legislative Framework - David L. Fleck

A home can be stolen without a break-in. It happens quietly, through a forged deed and a routine recording that makes a false transfer appear real.

Preventing Deed Fraud explains why this continues to happen and why current protections fall short. Alerts and monitoring notify victims after the damage is done. Title insurance shifts some of the loss but cannot prevent it. Incremental reforms improve the system at the margins while leaving its core vulnerability untouched.

This book presents a complete solution. It focuses on the single point where fraud can actually be stopped: the moment of notarization. Identity must be verified using tools capable of detecting modern fraud, and that verification must be preserved in a permanent, tamper-evident record that can be independently confirmed. Either step alone is not enough. Together, they close the gap that fraud exploits.

Written for lawmakers and policy leaders, this framework is practical, technology-neutral, and ready for adoption within existing systems. It does not merely manage the consequences of deed fraud. It ends it.