Deed theft and foreclosure rescue scams in New York
A notice of pendency is public. So is the lien-sale list. The people who read those records and then knock on your door or fill your mailbox range from legitimate to criminal, and New York law now draws the line in detail. This page is that line.
Deed theft is grand larceny since July 2024
Up-front fees for rescue services are illegal
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Why the calls started
when the case did.
Foreclosure filings, notices of pendency and lien-sale lists are public records. Companies and individuals buy or scrape them and market to everyone on the list.
Some of what arrives is legitimate: attorneys, HUD-approved counseling agencies and nonprofit legal services all reach homeowners this way. Some of it is a business model built on your fear: a company that takes a fee to "negotiate" and does nothing, or an investor whose paperwork quietly transfers your deed.
New York regulates both groups under the Real Property Law, has treated deed theft as grand larceny since July 2024, and lets prosecutors freeze evictions while they investigate. Knowing the rules tells you which offers are already breaking them.
One rule covers most of it
Nobody who is not your retained attorney may take money from you before the work is done, and nobody may have you sign a deed before a cancellation period has run. An offer that does either is unlawful on its face.
Warning signs
Six things a legitimate offer does not do.
- 01
Guarantee the result
Only your lender or servicer can approve a modification, and no one can promise a foreclosure will be stopped. A guarantee is the surest sign of a scam because it is a promise no honest party can make.
- 02
Ask for money first
A distressed property consultant may not charge or accept any payment before every promised service is complete. The federal MARS rule likewise bars any fee until you have accepted a written offer from your lender.
- 03
Tell you not to talk to anyone
Being told not to contact your lender, a lawyer or a housing counselor is a control tactic. Free counselors and legal services exist; a legitimate helper wants you to use them.
- 04
Ask you to sign the deed
"Temporarily", "to someone with better credit", "so we can refinance": a deed transfer is the theft itself. An equity purchaser may not have you sign a deed until your right to cancel the contract has ended.
- 05
Offer a sale-and-leaseback
You sell, you rent, you buy back later. The buy-back often never happens and the rent becomes an eviction. These contracts are covered by the Home Equity Theft Prevention Act precisely because of that pattern.
- 06
Pose as the government or the court
Official-looking letters with seals, "federal program" language and court-sounding names. The court writes to you through the case; the state's free program is the Homeowner Protection Program, and it never charges.
The two statutes
Who New York regulates, and how.
Two sections of the Real Property Law cover the two kinds of approach. Both give you a cancellation right and both carry treble damages.
| Consideration | Equity purchasers (RPL § 265-a, HETPA) | Distressed property consultants (RPL § 265-b) |
|---|---|---|
| Who it covers | Anyone buying a home that is "in foreclosure" (notice of pendency, filed case, or tax/utility lien-sale list) or "in default" (two or more months behind) | Anyone offering, for a fee, to stop or delay a foreclosure or tax sale, negotiate with the lender, or get a modification |
| The contract | Written, with prescribed contents and a printed cancellation notice next to the signature line | Written, in at least twelve-point type, given to you to review before signing |
| Your right to cancel | Until midnight of the fourteenth business day after signing; no deed can take effect before midnight of the fifth business day | Until midnight of the fifth business day after signing, without penalty |
| Money | The purchaser cannot have you sign a deed until the cancellation right has ended | No fee of any kind before every promised service is fully completed |
| Who is outside it | Buyers at the foreclosure auction itself, family transfers, bona fide purchasers for value, nonprofit housing organisations | A New York attorney directly representing you under a retainer agreement who has entered an appearance |
| If it is broken | Rescission within two years; damages within six; treble damages and attorney's fees; Attorney General injunctions | Actual and consequential damages; treble damages and attorney's fees for intentional or reckless violations |
Subdivision citations are in the sources at the foot of the page. Whether a particular contract is covered and whether a cancellation right has run are questions for an attorney with the paper in front of them.
Deed theft
What changed in 2023 and 2024.
For years deed theft was prosecuted, when it was prosecuted at all, as forgery or fraud, and a stolen deed could be laundered through a quick resale to a buyer the law protected. Two laws changed that.
What deed theft is
Title to a home taken without the owner's informed consent. The common forms are a forged deed recorded against the property; a deed signed by an owner who was told the document was a loan application, a modification or a "temporary" transfer; and a sale-and-leaseback where the buy-back was never real. Homes in foreclosure, homes of older owners and homes held by heirs without a probated estate are the usual targets.
The 2023 law: freezing the aftermath
Since December 2023 a court must stay an eviction or an ownership dispute over a property while the Attorney General or a district attorney is investigating or litigating deed theft involving it. The list of crimes that let prosecutors move to void a fraudulent deed or mortgage was expanded, and the Attorney General can file a notice of pendency on the title as a red flag to any buyer or lender.
The practical effect is that a homeowner who reports deed theft can stop being evicted from their own house while the case is looked at.
The 2024 law: making it larceny
Since 19 July 2024 deed theft is a form of grand larceny under the Penal Law, graded by the property taken and the victim, with the highest grade for theft from an elderly, disabled or incapacitated owner or of three or more homes. The limitations period is five years from the theft or two years from the day the owner discovers it, whichever is later, which matters because these thefts are often found years afterwards. The Attorney General can now prosecute alongside district attorneys.
Where to report it
The Attorney General's deed-theft hotline is 1-800-771-7755 and the email is [email protected]; a confidential complaint can also be filed online. In New York City the Sheriff's Office takes deed-fraud reports at 718-707-2100, and each borough district attorney has a unit. Bring the deed, anything you signed, and every letter.
Report first, then get a lawyer: the stay in the 2023 law attaches to a government investigation.
Watching your own title
New York City's Department of Finance runs a free Recorded Document Notification program: enrol through ACRIS and you are mailed whenever a document is recorded against your property. Outside the city, most county clerks offer a similar alert, and every county page on this site links to the clerk's public search so you can look yourself. Checking the record once a year is the cheapest protection there is.
This page describes general New York foreclosure procedure. It is not legal advice, and procedure has exceptions, county practice and case law that no general page can apply to an individual situation. NewYorkForeclosureHelp.com is not a law firm, a lender, or a government agency. If a deadline, court date, or sale date is approaching, speak with an attorney promptly.
Common questions
About scams and deed theft.
What is deed theft?
Taking the title to someone's home without their informed consent: by a forged deed, by tricking the owner into signing a deed they were told was something else, or by a sale-and-leaseback that was never meant to give the home back. Since July 2024 it is prosecuted in New York as grand larceny.
What are the signs of a foreclosure rescue scam?
A guarantee that the foreclosure will be stopped or a modification approved; a fee before anything is done; being told not to contact your lender, a lawyer or a housing counselor; a request to sign the deed to someone else, even temporarily; and an offer to buy the house and rent it back to you with a promise to sell it back later.
Can a company charge me up front to negotiate with my lender?
Not in New York. A distressed property consultant may not accept any payment before it has fully completed every service it promised, and the federal MARS rule bars any fee until you have accepted a written offer from your lender. An attorney representing you under a retainer is the only exception.
I signed a deed to someone who promised to help. Can it be undone?
Possibly. The Home Equity Theft Prevention Act gives a seller in foreclosure or default a right to cancel a covered contract, a right to rescind within two years, and a damages claim within six. Which applies depends on the paperwork and the timing, so bring everything to an attorney or to the Attorney General's deed-theft unit quickly.
Where do I report deed theft in New York?
The New York State Attorney General's deed-theft hotline, 1-800-771-7755, or [email protected]. In New York City you can also report it to the Sheriff's Office at 718-707-2100 or the borough district attorney, and enrol in the Department of Finance's free notification program so you are mailed whenever a document is recorded against your property.
Statutes and agency sources behind this guide
- D1: HETPA regulates equity purchasers buying a residence in foreclosure (notice of pendency, filed action, or tax/utility lien-sale list) or in default (two or more months behind). (RPL § 265-a(2)), read 2026-09-10
- D2: A covered contract must be in writing with a cancellation notice; the seller may cancel until midnight of the fourteenth business day; no deed becomes effective before midnight of the fifth business day after the contract. (RPL § 265-a(3)–(5)), read 2026-09-10
- D3: Remedies: rescission within two years, damages within six years, treble damages and attorney's fees. (RPL § 265-a(8)–(9)), read 2026-09-10
- D4: A distressed property consultant may not accept any payment before completing all services; the contract must be written, in twelve-point type, and cancellable until midnight of the fifth business day. (RPL § 265-b(2)–(3)), read 2026-09-10
- D5: An attorney is outside § 265-b only while directly representing the homeowner under a retainer and having appeared; violations carry actual, consequential and treble damages. (RPL § 265-b(1)(e), (4)), read 2026-09-10
- D6: The federal MARS rule bars any fee until the homeowner has accepted a written offer of relief from the lender. (12 CFR Part 1015), read 2026-09-10
- D7: Regulator-published warning signs: guarantees, up-front fees, instructions not to contact the lender or a counselor, a request to sign over the deed, sale-leaseback promises. (NYS DFS; Legal Aid Society), read 2026-09-10
- D8: Since December 2023 courts must stay eviction and ownership proceedings during a deed-theft investigation, and prosecutors and the Attorney General can move to void fraudulent instruments and file a notice of pendency. (L.2023 (S.6577/A.6656)), read 2026-09-10
- D9: Since 19 July 2024 deed theft is grand larceny, with a limitations period of five years or two years from discovery, and the Attorney General may prosecute it. (Penal Law §§ 155.35(3), 155.40(3), 155.42), read 2026-09-10
- D10: Attorney General deed-theft hotline 1-800-771-7755, [email protected]; HOPP hotline 1-855-466-3456. (NYS Attorney General), read 2026-09-10
- D11: NYC Department of Finance's free Recorded Document Notification program mails the owner a notice whenever a document is recorded against the property; report deed fraud to the Sheriff (718-707-2100) or the borough DA. (NYC Department of Finance), read 2026-09-10
Statutory claims were checked against published New York and federal law and the agencies' own pages on 2026-09-10 and are recorded, fact by fact, in the site's evidence file. The deed-theft laws are recent; the date is the date of the check.
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