If you own land or a house in Costa Rica that sits empty for long stretches, someone could transfer it out of your name without you ever signing a thing. You might not find out until a stranger starts working on it. Complaints of property registry fraud reached 122 in 2025, nearly double the 65 filed in 2022, according to the Prosecutor’s Office for Fraud and Cybercrime. Another 70 complaints linked to property transfers and other registry changes have been filed so far this year.
Prosecutor Melissa Lara, who coordinates notarial fraud cases, said the most frequent victims are older adults who rarely check the status of their property and foreigners who spend long periods outside Costa Rica. The scheme starts with your absence. Criminal groups look for properties that appear unattended, such as vacant lots, overgrown yards or houses with no visible activity, according to litigation lawyer Carlos Espinoza. They then ask neighbors how long the owner has been away.
Next, they forge identity cards, powers of attorney or other documents to pose as the owner and use them to register a transfer at the National Registry. Lara said a notary can be deceived by an impostor sitting across the desk, though in some cases a professional cooperates with the group.
Another method uses the Registry’s online filing system, Lara said. Fraudsters submit deeds that carry valid digital signatures, but the deed has no matching entry in the notary’s official protocol book. Once the property is in a new name, the usual sequence is a mortgage and then a sale to a third party, according to Lara. Each step puts another buyer or lender between you and your property, which makes it harder to recover.
Espinoza represents an 83-year-old woman whose property in Rohrmoser, San José, was allegedly transferred using documents she never authorized and then sold with a mortgage between third parties. He said her family noticed work being done on the land earlier this year. He is pursuing criminal and notarial complaints in the case.
The most effective protection is checking your property’s registry record regularly. A fraudulent transfer is far easier to stop before it has been mortgaged and resold. You can also sign up for the National Registry’s Alerta Registral service, which notifies you when a document affecting your property is filed. That way you hear about a change when it happens, not months later.
Visit the property or have someone you trust do it, keep it maintained and keep the locks working. A property that looks abandoned is exactly what these groups look for. Stay in touch with neighbors so they can tell you if strangers show up asking about the owner. A sign stating the property is not for sale also helps, because it tells anyone scouting the area that the owner is paying attention.
If you suspect fraud, file a criminal complaint. Lara said an administrative request at the Registry does not replace a criminal complaint, which is what drives an investigation. The Registry can, however, freeze movements on a property while a possible fraud is reviewed. Reversing a fraudulent transfer used to require going to court. Espinoza said a reform to the registry security law, in force since December 2025, now lets owners ask the National Registry itself to annul entries when the error can be objectively proven.
The same tactics are used on vehicles, Lara said. One practice, known as “gemeleo,” alters a car’s chassis or identification number so it can carry another vehicle’s plates. Anyone who owns property or a vehicle in Costa Rica can check its registry status online. Doing it a few times a year is the simplest way to make sure what’s yours is still in your name.
