Property Scams in Our Community Continue to Occur
By: Natascha Ovando-Karadsheh, Associate Broker/Owner at KOR Properties and Las Sendas resident for 20 years
After learning that another property scam occurred in Las Sendas, KOR Properties is republishing this article to try to generate more awareness of deed fraud. We strongly encourage you to share this information with friends and neighbors, especially those living out of state who may not even be aware of the severity of this issue.
According to an article published in the Phoenix Business Journal in December 2025, over $50 million in land scams occurred in Arizona in 2024. Over the past few years, property fraud has increased dramatically, both nationally and right here in our community, and it is only becoming more prevalent.
The most common property fraud is called deed theft. How does it work? Scammers impersonate the legal owner of the property, list the property, sell the property, and pocket the proceeds, all without the true owner’s knowledge. The title is then legally transferred to the buyer, and the rightful owner of the property loses their property without any knowledge of what has occurred. The loss of the asset can be financially devastating, and trying to regain ownership is a long and challenging legal process.
Some scammers will fraudulently list a property with a real estate agent, tricking them into believing they are the rightful owners, while others list the property “by owner” on a national website. The fraudulent sellers typically present themselves as out-of-state owners and usually only communicate via WhatsApp, email, or text. They use fake emails and signature blocks to perpetuate their scams and often use an out-of-state power of attorney to forge identity documents and deeds.
Scammers predominantly target vacant land, vacant properties, properties owned in LLCs, out-of-state homeowners, homes with recently deceased owners, investment properties, and homes that are owned free and clear. They prey on properties that have absentee owners so their schemes can go undetected.
Protecting Your Property
If you own property here or out of state, be vigilant. The first and easiest thing to do is to set a Google Alert for your property address and also regularly Google search your address. Search your property on Zillow and other third-party sites to see if it is listed for sale. Visit your property or ask your neighbors to watch for any unusual activity on the property, and make sure they have your contact information. We also recommend that you check the county assessor’s site at
mcassessor.maricopa.gov and the county treasurer’s site at
treasurer.maricopa.gov to confirm you are still the owner on record and that your mailing address is correct. You can also set up a title alert to be notified when a document is recorded associated with your name at
recorder.maricopa.gov/recording/title-alert.html. However, signing up for this alert alone is not enough because by the time something is recorded, the property has likely already changed hands.
Suggestions for Buyers
If you are a buyer interested in purchasing property here or elsewhere, be aware of these red flags: The “seller” will not provide detailed property information, the price is too good to be true, or the seller is in a hurry to close. Never wire funds directly to a seller, and be sure to have your own professional real estate representation. Just because a property is “for sale by owner” does not mean you cannot have an agent representing you. Let your agent speak with the seller; experienced agents have spidey senses. Hire a reputable title company, choose an experienced title agent, and buy title insurance. One of the title companies we work with has told us they have stopped several fraudulent sales in the past few months simply by being aware and noticing that something felt “off” with the documentation, so be sure to have people you trust on your team.
Again, please share this information with your friends and neighbors so we can all stay aware and protect our community. We have personally seen Las Sendas properties fraudulently listed on national sites, and we have received many calls from scammers over the past few years asking us to list properties that do not belong to them. We always do what we can to alert the actual owner of a property, but if the information in the tax record is not correct, it is not always possible to alert the owner. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to give us a call.
Helpful Links:
