by FYIVT.com

The FBI has renewed its warning about criminals impersonating property owners to sell land they do not own. In Vermont, the June 16, 2026 advisory comes as the state continues a land-records modernization project begun four years ago, with no published statewide completion date.

Criminals use forged identification, fabricated email addresses and internet-based telephone numbers to pose as legitimate owners. They enlist real estate agents, arrange sales and attempt to collect the proceeds. Vacant parcels are particularly attractive targets.

The advisory follows an April 2025 FBI Boston warning. On November 4, 2026, federal prosecutors announced a guilty plea involving more than $1.5 million in fraudulent land sales across four states, none of them Vermont.

A four-year timeline

2022: Vermont enacted Act 171 (H.512 in Bill Wrangler), establishing a framework for electronic recording and directing the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration (VSARA) to study modernization of municipal land records.

January 2024: VSARA’s legislative report documented a fragmented system. Among 146 jurisdictions supplying 2022 data, 60 had electronic-recording-capable systems, 21 had systems without that capability, and 65 reported no land-records system.

The agency proposed testing shared cloud-based recording software, potentially reducing municipal costs. The report anticipated a February–March 2024 pilot start involving three technology providers.

September 2024: A presentation to municipal clerks, attached to February 2025 testimony, outlined cost modeling that fall, feasibility testing after the election and electronic recording becoming available in Vermont during 2025.

May 2025: FYIVT examined how fraudulent deeds could leave innocent property owners paying substantial legal expenses to restore clear title.

June 2025: Stewart Title reported an attempted fraudulent sale of vacant, mortgage-free land in Underhill. An impostor enlisted a real estate agent and secured a buyer.

Warning signs included a below-market price, rushed closing, power of attorney and instructions to wire proceeds to a business account. The closing attorney contacted the property’s actual owners, who confirmed they had authorized no sale. The transaction was stopped.

January 2026: Vermont lawmakers considered H.645, proposing identity verification for real-property transactions. (Track it in Bill Wrangler.) Following committee hearings, the bill did not advance.

In January 21 testimony, Deputy Secretary of State S. Lauren Hibbert and State Archivist Tanya Marshall recommended continuing the existing modernization effort rather than proceeding separately with H.645.

They recommended awaiting comprehensive legislative proposals expected during the 2027–2028 session, including a secure statewide records system, electronic submission portals incorporating fraud safeguards and validation checks.

That timetable was their recommendation, not a statutory deadline or promised operational date.

A separate January 2026 Department of Taxes report described an ongoing proof-of-concept study involving 48 municipalities using the same records vendor. It noted that mandatory statewide participation would require legislative action.

What is the project costing?

Act 171 funded a permanent VSARA staff position through the Secretary of State Services Fund, rather than financing a statewide software rollout.

VSARA’s 2024 report estimated existing municipal records-system expenses at approximately $615,000–$738,000 annually, extrapolated from incomplete 2022 data. Those figures describe estimated operating costs, not the proposed project’s budget.

The reviewed reports contain no identified pilot-specific appropriation, final implementation budget or statewide launch date. VSARA also identified potential legislative changes needed for statewide software procurement.

Protection already available

Vermont’s municipal land records are maintained by town clerks, with online systems provided primarily through Cott Systems (RECORDhub/eSearch), NEMRC, Avenu Insights and Kofile. The Vermont Municipal Clerks’ and Treasurers’ Association maintains a town-by-town directory identifying participating municipalities and their vendors.

Some of these systems already offer property-fraud notifications that homeowners can activate.

Cott Systems provides PropertyCheck, which sends email or text notifications when documents matching registered names or property information are recorded. Owners may be able to register through their town’s RECORDhub portal where the service is enabled. Cott also supports PropertyCheck on its eSearch platform, with different registration arrangements. Killington offers the service free. Cabot uses Cott software, although local alert activation has not been confirmed.

Avenu Insights offers Property Fraud Alert through its U.S. Land Records system. Barnard provides registration, while South Burlington advertises free fraud alerts. Availability and any charges depend on the participating municipality.

NEMRC and Kofile also provide land-record systems to Vermont municipalities. However, equivalent homeowner fraud-alert services have not been independently confirmed for those platforms.

Property owners should check the municipal directory, contact their town clerk and ask whether recording notifications are available. Clerks can contact their existing vendors about enabling and publicizing available alert features.

These alerts do not prevent fraudulent deeds from being recorded. They provide an opportunity for property owners to discover suspicious filings sooner.

Anyone discovering a questionable recording should contact their town clerk, a real-estate attorney and law enforcement, and report suspected internet-related fraud at IC3.gov.

Four years after Vermont authorized modernization, unanswered questions include statewide deployment costs, when uniform safeguards will become available and who bears the legal expense when a fraudulent deed is recorded.