NSCL Real Estate Title Fraud

February 27, 2023

Recent news stories have raised concern about real-estate title fraud, in which fraudsters steal ownership of a home in order to sell or mortgage the property, without the true owner’s knowledge.

These recent title transfer frauds cases appear to have occurred primarily in Toronto and Vancouver where the ownership of a home was stolen using identity theft and the home sold to an unsuspecting buyer. In other cases mortgage fraud occurred where mortgages have been registered on a home without the owner's knowledge or consent to obtain the cash value of the mortgage.

Can this type of real estate fraud occur in Alberta? Are homeowners truly at risk of fraudsters selling their property out from under them? How can you protect yourself against fraud? Does the law offer any protection?

In this session we consider these what protection the Alberta Land Titles System has against fraud and whether homeowners should buy “title insurance”.