🛡️ Fraud Shield Agent Spotlight – Dove Title

When diligence, verification and following the process stop fraud before closing

At FNTI, we believe fraud prevention is a team effort. It takes knowledgeable title professionals who recognize red flags, follow established procedures, ask the right questions and know when something simply doesn’t add up.

Dove Title recently demonstrated exactly what it means to be a Fraud Shield Agent when their team identified and stopped a potentially fraudulent real estate transaction before a file was opened or significant work was completed.

A Request That Raised Questions

Dove Title initially received an email from an individual claiming to be purchasing a residential property in Texas and looking for representation and escrow services. After providing the requested contact information, the prospective buyer submitted a residential purchase agreement.

The first red flag came during a basic review of the property. The property was vested in the names of a husband and wife, but the submitted agreement was signed only by the purported buyer. Dove Title advised that they would need a contract signed by all vested owners before they could open the file and proceed with title research.

Rather than accepting an explanation that an addendum would allow only one of the owners to sign, Dove Title stayed with its established process.

More Red Flags Appear

Approximately ten days later, an amended contract was submitted along with earnest money delivered from Canada in the form of a U.S. dollar draft.

The amended contract immediately raised additional concerns.

The name of the buyer had changed, but the signature remained essentially identical to the signature on the original agreement—and did not appear to correspond to either name.

The signatures attributed to the sellers were also illegible and did not appear consistent with the names of the actual property owners.

At that point, Dove Title took the critical next step: they verified the information directly with the people who would know the truth.

Verification Confirmed the Fraud

Dove Title contacted the property owners using a known phone number—not the contact information provided by the purported buyer.

The owners confirmed that:

• They had not signed the purchase agreement.
• They were not under contract to sell the property.
• The phone number and email address provided for the sellers were not theirs.
• The property was currently listed with a known real estate professional.

Dove Title also contacted the realtor, who confirmed there was no pending contract for the property.

The fraudulent nature of the transaction was clear.

Taking Action Beyond the Closing

Dove Title did not simply walk away from the suspicious transaction. Because of the forged signatures, fraudulent communications and concerns surrounding the earnest money payment, the matter was turned over to local law enforcement.

They also shared information with title company partners in the area in an effort to help others recognize and prevent similar attempts.

That willingness to verify, investigate, document and communicate is exactly what makes this a Fraud Shield Agent story.

Fraud Shield Agent | Fraud Fighter

Dove Title demonstrated that fraud prevention doesn’t always require sophisticated technology or a complicated investigation. Sometimes, it starts with something as simple as asking:

Does this make sense?

They followed their process. They recognized inconsistencies. They verified information directly with the property owners. And when the facts didn’t match the story, they took action.

Their diligence helped prevent a fraudulent transaction from moving forward and potentially protected the true property owners, the title company and others who could have been impacted.

Thank you to Dove Title for being vigilant, following the process and helping protect the integrity of the transaction.

Have you caught fraud?

If your team identifies a suspected fraud attempt, we want to hear about it. Sharing these experiences helps other title professionals recognize red flags and stay one step ahead of fraud.

Fraud Shield Agent. Fraud Fighter.
Stopping Fraud. Protecting the Closing.