Add land surveys to the ways criminals are trying to scam your clients. AI and other digital tools have made it easier to alter existing surveys, redrawing boundary lines and changing dates, dimensions, notes, or even the surveyor’s name, signature, and seal.
Note that a real property affidavit or declaration is not a guarantee that an existing survey has not been fraudulently altered.
What to do if you suspect a survey has been tampered with?
As with other aspects of the transaction, you and your clients should closely examine documents for signs anything is amiss. If you suspect a survey has been illegally modified, you can contact the firm that conducted the survey to see if they can match it to a survey on file. While this shouldn’t be considered a legal verification of the provided survey, it may uncover signs of obvious fraud.