Scammers, con artists, and imposters have a way of hacking into others’ minds for personal gain just as the tech criminal hacks into computers. We want to trust others but trusting your own instincts is best.
Notaries have always been an important line of protection against fraud. And no matter how technologically advanced society becomes, ones instincts and actions are still the best defense against the daily barrage of scammers, con artists and corner cutters.
Every Notary needs to look out for those rare instances when someone tries to pull the wool over your eyes or get you to do something you shouldn’t. But when they do, scammers will use any number of tricks and strategies to try to dupe or manipulate you into doing one of four things:
- Notarizing a document without the signer being present.
- Notarizing the signature of an imposter by failing to properly identify them.
- Notarizing a signature of someone who is unaware of what they are signing or being pressured to sign.
- Giving the scammer access to your Notary seal and/or journal records.
Most scams target high-value transactions such as real property transfers, mortgages, estate documents and powers of attorney. If one falls for one of these scams, the consequences can be enormous, not just to the victims of the scam, but for the notary also.
Notaries often spend more time recording information from the ID than checking and comparing the ID to the client. But verifying a signer’s identity is a crucial responsibility. Failing to do so is a common reason claims are filed against Notaries. So, we always pay attention to the details on the ID and compare them to the signer.
We understand the risks and we know how to deal with them.
We hope that you find this information helpful and please Contact Us for any of the services we provide.