Your Cookies are Disabled! NationalNotary.org sets cookies on your computer to help improve performance and provide a more engaging user experience. By using this site, you accept the terms of our cookie policy. Learn more.

Notary Voices: Thieves stealing your Notary seals

A man discreetly reaching for another person's Notary stamp.

A properly performed notarial act lends fundamental trust and confidence in a transaction. It’s that trust that powers our economy and boosts consumer confidence. Criminals understand that, too, and for decades, they have hatched nefarious schemes to forge images of authentic notarial stamps to create the illusion that a valuable document has been notarized.

The losses can be extremely high when they use the stolen seal impressions to forge things like mortgages and powers of attorneys, and unknowing citizens can lose everything. The problem has become even worse in recent years with advancements in digital imaging and artificial intelligence, which make the fakes even more convincing.

Curious about the NNA Community’s experiences, we recently asked our thousands of followers on Facebook: Has anyone ever tried to steal or copy your Notary seal?

With more than 80 responses so far, Notaries are continuing to share their experiences. Here are a few highlights:

Customer answers on Facebook community

Notary Desiree Novajosky of Atlanta, Georgia reports her seal image was stolen recently and she had to jump through several hoops to protect herself:

“I Had to file a theft claim report and go get a new commission from the Clerk of Superior Court and I had to vary the (commission) name according to the rules in GA. I also reported it to my E&O carrier as well.”

Susy Martin, of Las Vegas, Nevada, posted a harrowing report involving a title company:

“I was a signing agent for 10 years. A manager at a [Title Company] forged my signature and stamp on a deed of trust. The document did not have any legal Notary wording on it, and I missed it because of that … Just a line where I was supposed to sign. After about two weeks I got a frantic call to come to the office immediately and recreate the forged document because they had faxed it over to the lender already. I was furious … I quit that day.”

San Marcos, California Notary Karen Andrews Farley reports her seal was stolen by a criminal who lacked some skills in the forgery department.

“A few years ago, a couple of detectives met with me to confirm my signature and stamp. (The forger) did pretty good on the stamp but terrible on my signature. I had met with (the forger) a couple weeks prior to notarize his signature on a document.”

The issue has even affected employees of the NNA. Most recently, our Vice President of Government Affairs Bill Anderson learned that criminals had scraped his expired commission information from a database of Notaries, then created a fake seal image from it with an altered expiration date, making it appear valid.

“It used to be that bad actors would scrape a Notary's credentials from a recorded real property document that they got from the recorder's office. Now, all they have to do is find a (database of Notaries) and they can go fishing. It has to stop.”

Every week on social media we ask you — the nation’s Notaries — to share your experiences on our “Question of the Week” threads. We’d love for you to join in the conversation! Look for our “Questions of the Week” on the National Notary Association’s Facebook page. We can’t wait to hear your stories.

Note: The experiences and opinions expressed in the featured posts above are individual comments and are not official positions of the National Notary Association. Some featured posts were lightly edited for length, grammar, style, and clarity.

Phillip Browne is the Vice President of Communications at the National Notary Association.

View All: Notary News

19 Comments

Add your comment

Patricia Miller

21 Nov 2024

I agree with Gerry (28 Auf 2024). We can say all we want about forgeries having to stop, but someone in power needs to be the one to take a stand on our behalf. Thanks.

Fredis Palencia

21 Nov 2024

Easiest way to confirm the signer did sign and the notary did witness is having both the signer and the notary both apply there finger print on the document and probably add 1 minute to the whole notarized document which we are being poorly compensated in California . Raise awareness about that topic .

Sheryl D. Armstrong

21 Nov 2024

Notary Voices: Thieves Stealing Your Notary Seals A few suggestions to be noted are as follows: 1. The State where one is commissioned may be able to establish a non-fraudulent system or database that prevent any manipulation. 2. Maybe Emissions & Errors can include a clause regarding fraudulent crimes for Notary protection. 3. Do more screening of employees who handle sensitive information. 4. Secure databases with passcodes. 5. There is always a counterfeit and an imposter worldwide. (Security Check of Processed paperwork) 6. We can/shall continue to be aware as much as possible. I thank NNA for handling all the suggestions and comments. We do look forward to solutions to the current scenarios. Most of all we all shall safeguard our commission tools by locking them up.

Ella Nimz

20 Nov 2024

I noticed that when Amy made the comment about ordering a stamp on Amazon , NNA response was for Amy to contact Amazon . I have notified NNA that you can order a stamp on Amazon and they don’t ask for any credentials. Seems like NNA should be investigating this further and contacting the authorities. NNA has more resources than a notary . Yes you can report your stamp stolen but they can steal it again and make a new stamp on Amazon apparently and nobody care apparently.

Steven Ransom

20 Nov 2024

Gerry11 Sep 2024, his comment got me thinking. "States are willing to create secure documents, like driver licenses and car titles, when they think it's important. If they cared, they would issue personalized high-security stickers to each notary instead of relying on them to purchase stamps or embossers." said Gerry11 The above statement got me thinking. In many states, the commission number is assigned to every notary public at the time of appointment and is reflected on the notary commission. A membership number is assigned to members of notary organizations. Some states assign notaries public a commission number, but others do not. Some states assign notaries public a unique commission number that appears on their commission or license. This number is a key part of notary stamps and seals, which help to verify the notary's credentials. Some states do not assign notaries public a commission number. For example, Michigan and Tennessee do not have a notary commission number system. In Georgia, any numbers on a notary certificate of appointment are for internal use only. You can contact your state's commissioning authority for more information.

Ann Dye

19 Nov 2024

I was told that you can purchase a notary stamp on Amazon....I notified NNA and am surprised that product wasn't taken off the market....why not? I know our stamps come from reputable sources so why is this fake stamp available...seems that would be a great tool for forgers.

National Notary Association

20 Nov 2024

Hello. Thank you for making us aware of this situation. We would suggest contacting Amazon directly to let them know if you suspect a vendor is offering fraudulent Notary stamps through their site.

anneea1029@aol.com

19 Nov 2024

I think the idea of a special blue ink (or purple, brown, etc.) is an really good idea. The stamp makers can work with the agencies and come up with the required special shade. So everyone can know the originals are originals, you can maybe barely see it on a copy, so you know it's a copy. I'm glad CA is a bit more careful than other states.

Rosalind Sartin

16 Oct 2024

I don't think the public can see our Notary Certificates online, commenting to the person right before me.

info@highstakesnotary.com

15 Oct 2024

I am concerned with the websites requesting that we upload a copy of our Notary Certificates for them to display to the public and signing services.

Laurie Thelwell

13 Sep 2024

What a a finger print that uses invisible ink but can be picked up by a scanner? I agreed with another person’s suggestion about a database to report your credentials stolen.

Gerry

11 Sep 2024

States are willing to make secure documents when they think it's important, like driver licenses and car titles. If they really cared, they would issue personalized high-security stickers to each notary instead of relying on the notaries to purchase stamps or embossers.

Katharine Fairley

10 Sep 2024

Maybe create a special type of ink. When making a copy it will alter the look of the seal enough where it is still accepted by title and lenders but not usable when duplicated. Also, another requirement is using a unique shade of blue that all notaries will have to use and can only be ordered the same way as when we order a new seal.

ELIZABETH M. KNIGHT

09 Sep 2024

We have had two fraudulent rescissions of trustee's deeds done using two different forged notary seals from our office and forged signatures on the documents. Two completely separate transactions. The forgeries are coming out of Los Angeles.

Yukita Manuel

09 Sep 2024

I really hate people try to get over on people and really feel that notary seals should be embossed on all documents. This would cut down on theft of notary stamps in my opinion. I also write the date inside of my notary seal when I stamp a document.

Rawleigh

05 Sep 2024

Maybe we will have to go back to the older raised seals. While they had to be darkened to be scannable, at least they were hard to fake.

T. Callen

05 Sep 2024

Since many states don't require notaries to report stolen notary credentials/seals and even those states that do, don't offer a way for settlement agents/closing attorneys to confirm whether such a theft has occurred, it would be helpful if there was a central registry for U.S. notaries to report stolen credentials/seals. It's a daunting project since each state is different, but in light of the risk and six-figure losses that can result, it is a significant need.

Gerry

28 Aug 2024

Mr Anderson is quoted as saying "It has to stop." What a useless thing to write! As an expert, he should be providing a realistic proposal on how to stop it.

National Notary Association

09 Sep 2024

Hello. The NNA plans to publish a position paper on Notary impersonation fraud in the near future that will suggest several proactive measures to stop seal theft. Please continue to watch for more information and articles on this topic in the Notary Bulletin.

Leave a Comment

Required *

All comments are reviewed and if approved, will display.

Close