Deed fraud is a threat everywhere. But in Southern Arizona—which has a growing proportion of retirees, a significant English as second language (ESL) population, and a large number of vacation homes and other properties that may lie vacant for part of the year—property owners and potential buyers may be at higher risk.
Add to this the fact that the state’s laws around property fraud were fairly permissible—until this year, the crime was only a civil offense and it can be difficult for property owners to retake their rightful property—and it’s no wonder that Arizona ranks No. 6 in the U.S. for cybercrime, which includes real estate fraud.
The Tucson Association of REALTORS® saw an opportunity to fight back against the fraudsters. Thanks to a $25,000 National Association of REALTORS® Consumer Advocacy grant, T.A.R. developed the Protect Your Title campaign to educate Pima County property owners on deed fraud prevention and connect them to practical resources.
Deed Fraud in Arizona
T.A.R. has been working with stakeholders on deed fraud for the past four years, starting when new state legislation began requiring county recorders to offer a voluntary deed fraud notification system. In 2024, the association introduced Forewarn, a third-party identity verification platform, as a member benefit and held its first deed fraud CE class. The following year, T.A.R.’s sister company, the Multiple Listing Service of Southern Arizona, launched Property Shield as a participant/subscriber benefit, which has prevented more than 2,400 attempted fraudulent listings to date.
“As fraudulent documents, impersonation and increasingly sophisticated technology make scams more convincing, we want our members to understand the warning signs and exercise appropriate vigilance,” says Romeo Arrieta, T.A.R.’s chief executive officer. “No REALTOR® or real estate professional should unknowingly become part of a fraudulent transaction because a fake identity, forged document or fabricated story was convincing enough to escape scrutiny.”
Making the community aware was the natural next step. “Our members care deeply about advancing the opportunity to achieve and enjoy homeownership and property ownership. That commitment doesn't stop at the closing table,” Arrieta says. “Helping people achieve property ownership is important; helping them safeguard it is a natural extension of that work.”
Protect Your Title
Through the Protect Your Title Campaign (protectyourtitle.org), T.A.R. directs Pima County property owners to the free Fraud Notify service offered by the county recorder’s office, which gives registered property owners an alert anytime a document is recorded in their name. The site also advises visitors on three simple ways to protect themselves from deed fraud, explains who’s at risk, and describes several real cases.
With the support of stakeholders, especially title companies, T.A.R. is raising awareness of the website through a multichannel public information campaign that includes paid social media and digital display advertising targeting Pima County residents, an ongoing public relations and earned-media effort, organic social media and direct outreach to T.A.R. members. REALTORS® and affiliate members are also being provided with ready-to-use campaign assets they can incorporate into their own marketing and share directly with clients, extending the campaign’s reach through trusted real estate professionals.
Pima County has more than 440,000 properties, but when T.A.R. began the campaign in August 2026, fewer than 10,000 county property owners were enrolled in Fraud Notify. As of early October, that number was more than 13,000. The English and Spanish Protect Your Title pages have also attracted more than 5,500 visitors and rank among the five most-visited pages on T.A.R.’s website, demonstrating strong public interest in the issue.
Arrieta says the association hopes that Protect Your Title can serve as a model that can be replicated by REALTOR® associations in communities across the country.
“Deed fraud is not unique to Southern Arizona, and REALTORS® are uniquely positioned to help educate consumers about a threat that strikes at the heart of property ownership,” he says. “By documenting what we learn—including our messaging, campaign assets, partnerships, outreach strategies, and results—we hope to create a turnkey framework that other associations can adapt and deploy in their own communities, rather than having to build a campaign from the ground up.”
He adds that the campaign also demonstrates the power of leveraging NAR resources at the local level. “By combining national resources with local knowledge, relationships, and execution, an individual association can achieve far greater reach and impact than it could on its own,” Arrieta says.
Plus, to put it simply, programs like Protect Your Title are just the right thing to do. “When an issue directly affects something we know deeply, like the importance of property ownership, we believe we have a responsibility to put our expertise and resources to work,” he says.
He adds: “Protect Your Title also allows us to put the REALTOR® commitment to being a Good Neighbor into action—educating property owners, equipping our members and helping safeguard the integrity of private property ownership throughout Southern Arizona.
