Virginia e-Notary Public

Is this a case of a stolen Notary ID? The article says: "One reason is an affidavit from *Kimberly Philbrick, the Florida notary whose name is listed on Naussany’s documents. *Philbrick indicated she never met Lisa Marie Presley or notarized any documents for her*, according to the lawsuit. The judge said the affidavit brought the signature's authenticity into question."

Failed Graceland sale by a mystery entity highlights attempts to take assets of older or dead people MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The catalyst behind the failed gambit to sell off the iconic Graceland property in Memphis is a mystery. The self-styled investment company also is under fire from a lawsuit alleging fraud, an aggressive attorney general and a community of Elvis Presley loyalists who consider...

For all the strong women out there!!

It might be a good time to check your iPhone settings if you haven't done so since the last update... Darned if my "Journaling" setting wasn't public!

Here's a good article for those of us who deal in information that might be confidential:

iPhone security breach: how to know if your phone is tapped If you suspect your iPhone's security might be compromised, learn how to verify this and restore it to safety.

Attention all Virginia Notaries on this page. There are currently two Bills being presented at the Virginia General Assembly next week that have a direct impact on us as Virginia Notaries. The first is a bill to increase our allowable fee to $10 (from the current $5) for each traditional stamp, and the other is to remove Antecedent Proofing as an Identity Verification option.

While I am sure we all agree on the increase to our fee, the other is not so easily understood or used. It is primarily in use by Federal notaries within a local area network, and by notaries in the Healthcare field. This seems rather obscure to most of us, but it will cause these two fields to HAVE to revert to a platform (with all associated platform fees) and effectively drive up the cost of services to the public to recoup those costs. Do we as American Taxpayers need higher costs? Not needlessly.

PLEASE take a moment to copy the text below and send YOUR representative your input TODAY! They will meet this coming week, and if we want to be heard, we need to speak NOW!

whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov

Date

The Honorable (First name)(Last name)
Address City, State (Zip Code)
RE: Support to Increase the Standard Fee for Virginia Notarial Acts and Renounce the Removal the Antecedent Proofing identity verification method

Dear (Representative/Senator/Congressman or Congresswoman) (Last name):

My name is (your first and last name) and I am a (family member /service provider/advocate/community member) who resides in your district.

I am writing today to ask for your vote on two Bills currently being introduced to the Virginia General Assembly in January of 2024 regarding Notarial acts under the purview of Virginia notaries public.

The first Bill is being introduced By Delegate Kathy Tran to increase the allowable fee for traditional notarial acts from five dollars ($5) to ten dollars ($10) per stamp, currently I cannot reference a drafted House Bill proposed by Delegate Tran. The current fee for a traditional notarial stamp has been locked at five dollars since 2005.

I strongly support any House Bill that would increase this minimal rate for traditional notarizations for Virginia Notaries Public.

As Public Officers we have, for the most part, personally accepted all risk for notarizations that are performed for the general public. In direct correlation, to balance the personal risk, most of us obtain individual Errors & Omissions Insurance out of pocket in the event we need legal representation. These fees rise periodically, but our fee has not kept pace with the costs of performing our office with all due diligence.
In addition, the costs of obtaining equipment have increased over time, as you are aware, the effects of inflation have impacted all industries nationwide, the suppliers of notarial equipment are no exception.
The increase would offset personal costs and support the ability of notaries representing Virginia to perform their office with confidence that our Notary Commission is not a financially negative effort.
I ask that you vote YES to this bill to increase the allowable fee to $10 per stamp.

Additionally it has been brought to my attention that there is interest to draft legislation to remove the identity verification method "antecedent proofing" from the VA Code § 47.1-2. Definitions. The drafted House Bill 1372 proposed in part by Representative Delegate Marcus B. Simon would remove the option of antecedent proofing for Virginia notaries, both traditional and electronic.

I strongly oppose any House Bill that would remove this identity proofing option. While this is not a widely utilized method of identity verification, it is a valuable option for Virginia notaries in both the Federal space as well as the Healthcare field.

Removal of this option would force the Federal government to utilize a commercial platform for actions that are currently possible to perform with in-network software tools already purchased by the Federal government for their local area networks at each agency. While identity verification is vital to the performance of a valid notarization, in instances where antecedent proofing is possible, the change would require contracts and software licensing fees for software platforms which may not currently be impacting the overall expense to the private individual. This does nothing but burden the US Taxpayer with yet another expense in an already extended Federal budget.
Additionally Healthcare organizations utilizing this identity verification method would also be forced into the commercial field for online platforms, requiring contracts and software licensing fees which may not currently be impacting the overall expense to the private individual. In many cases a software platform may not be an option depending on the individual circumstances of the health issue. Our healthcare costs are already exceedingly high, adding yet another fee to the public is an unnecessary burden.
The Commonwealth of Virginia is currently the only state in the United State with this identification form option available, and it is a highly valuable method in terms of potential for the Commonwealth if used properly.
As a Steward of the Taxpayers' dollar - I ask that you vote NO to this bill.

I appreciate your help and ask that you please send me a response letting me know if you are able to support any future House Bill that would amend or modify these two points in the Virginia Code.

Sincerely, SIGN YOUR NAME
Print your name
Street address
City, State, Zip code

Pretty sure there was a notary involved in this story somewhere - make sure you KNOW who is signing!!

TSA director arrested by US Customs and Border Protection in Florida A high-ranking officer of the Transportation Security Administration was arrested last month in an Atlanta airport on an outstanding warrant from St. Lucie, Florida.

For you RONs out there - several points to note - be diligent and make sure they pass the KBA!

Property owners are increasingly having their land sold out from under them. 4 experts break down the failures allowing this, and how the crime can be prevented in the future. Land owners from Connecticut to Arizona are having their property sold without their knowledge, leaving them wondering how it even happened.

https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/the-rising-risk-of-business-identity-theft?utm_source=Eloqua&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SB-CTC%20%7C%20EM_April%202023%20Newsletter_Entity%20Management_03-2023

The rising risk of business identity theft: Why formal entity dissolution and withdrawal is a critically important safeguard Learn how to protect your client's business against identity theft during business dissolution. CT's experts can help to file the correct documents, annual report & more.

Do any of my VA Notaries handle Apostilles? I have one that needs to be processed and I have never done it. Please DM me, and we can figure out next steps... thank you!

Here is a relevant article from the SBA on managing your online activity and data storage. One addition I would strongly recommend for those of us actively performing eNotarizations is an electronic shredding app for your pc. There are many free apps out there, and even more that are inexpensive for single licenses. DON'T BE THE WEAKEST LINK in the e-notarization process!!
https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/manage-your-business/strengthen-your-cybersecurity -header-0

Strengthen your cybersecurity Cyberattacks are a concern for small businesses. Learn about cybersecurity threats and how to protect yourself.

Another reason those Credit Repair orders are not in my wheelhouse.

Do not leave a paper trail: How a group of sovereign citizens used a phony credit-repair business to amass a real-estate empire Three co-conspirators were nabbed after months on the run for an alleged scam that used stolen identities to buy dozens of rental properties.

Why we need to make sure we are following the Identity Proofing requirements.

Asheville notary, lawyer face dozens of new felony fraud charges; accused of housing scam A notary and attorney from Asheville linked to an alleged scheme to defraud older homeowners, Black residents and others of their houses have now been charged collectively with dozens of felonies.

In honor of Earth Day - share one thing YOU do to reduce our carbon footprint!

Green Web Hosting - Going Green With GreenGeeks® GreenGeeks® is one of the largest green web hosting providers powering hundreds of thousands of websites using renewable energy.

iDenfy partners with Notaries At Large to ensure a secure document signing process The e-Notary Directory’s high-risk documents will be protected with identity verification

For all my Virginia eNotaries (or traditional notaries as far as that goes) - it came to my attention the other day that there is an AMENDED Virginia 2021 Notary Handbook out on the SoC's website. The "tell" is that the amended version has a Bullet D on page 13 of the handbook. If the copy you reference does NOT have a Bullet D on pg 13 - go grab the new one! The electronic title is "2021-Legislation-Revised-Notary-Handbook-2020.pdf" but the Issue date and version don't reflect any changes. (For some reason I was never notified that there was a change to it out there, so I am assuming no one else was notified either!)
https://www.commonwealth.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/secretary-of-the-commonwealth/pdf/2021-Legislation-Revised-Notary-Handbook-2020.pdf

www.commonwealth.virginia.gov

For those of you who I have personally worked with - I have gotten the Review section of the webpage up and working! I am so excited! Please take a moment of your time and leave a Review so others will know what to expect - and for those who already have - my SINCERE THANKS!

Gotta love it!!!

https://youtu.be/9T_CQorT9Rw

The Brother Brothers - Notary Public | Audiotree Live Download & stream The Brother Brothers on Audiotree Live -- https://smarturl.it/AT-Brother-BrothersThere's a unique connection between the souls of musical s...

Someone asked me recently about the "SS" that is often on the other side of the State and County lines in our notarial venue. I just found a really good definition for it - thanks to Acorn Sales:
DOES THE SS IN THE NOTARY CERTIFICATE STAND FOR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER?

The venue in a notarial act is the location: State and City/County. Most often you see French braces after the venue with an SS following them. Many people think that SS stands for social security number and they will type that number after the SS. In fact SS is Latin for “scilicet” which means “namely” or “in particular” and refers to where you are at the time of the notarization.

Do we have a notary in the Crystal City area that is available to do a boat title? PM me please!

Enquiring Minds Want to Know - What would YOU do? Just saw this on another page, and it is a really good scenario to think about - particularly in our electronic age.

"I received a message through Notary Stars from a real estate agent, saying he thinks someone fraudulently used my stamp and asked if he could send over an image of the signature so I can verify if it is mine or not."

Just got a response to something I asked a couple of weeks ago - and this was in the email:
Notary
Due to unexpected delays with USPS, approved notary commissions are taking longer than usual to arrive at the respective circuit courts. We are noticing that it is taking, on average, an extra 3 weeks for commissions to arrive their respective courts. Please allow some additional time for processing. To check the status of your notary application, please visit our website here and log into your notary management account. Once logged in, you should be able to see your notary application and check the status. If the status states "Entered", then we have not yet received your application. If it states "Approved", it means your application has been received and is in process. If it states "Pending Oath", then your commission has been sent to the circuit court of your choosing and is awaiting pickup.

Virginia e-Notary Public updated their address.

As noted here - Virginia notaries are currently the only exception to the "notarize where you are commissioned" rule:

https://www.nationalnotary.org/notary-bulletin/blog/2021/06/where-signer-and-notary-located-during-remote-notarization?utm_campaign=bulletin20210628&utm_medium=email&utm_source=nnabulletin&utm_content=BodyButtonRONLocation&content_type=1&position=1&NNAID=160001019

Where do a signer and Notary have to be located during a remote notarization? Many people ask where Notaries and signers can be located during remote notarizations. Here’s what you need to know.

For all my e-notaries. This particular post is valid in that it raises points we (as VA eNotaries) are already bound to, but our counterparts in other States will *not* be. While working with these boiler plate letters may not be perfect, they are a good start to raising the objections to the appropriate parties for a better review. My letter will be sent today. I hope you will join me in causing them to give this more thorough thought before slamming it through.

https://www.calnotaries.org/law-alerts/letter-campaign-secure-notarization-act-of-2021

Letter Campaign: SECURE Notarization Act of 2021 Law Alerts posted by Matt Miller about Letter Campaign: SECURE Notarization Act of 2021 on The California League of Independent Notaries.