. . . to unlawfully obtain a stamp and use it to commit a crime. The police consider this an act of identity theft. It's like stealing someone's social security number and opening credit cards. You are still in possession of your stamp.
The same thing happened to me recently, but with a Mexican time share scam. The perpetrators went on the Minnesota Secretary of State's website and used my commission number to have a stamp made and stamped it on documents to make them look official when trying to scam people who owned time shares in Mexico out of money. They do not have my stamp! I am in possession of my stamp. Just as Ilene is in possession of her stamp. Someone stole her identity.
Luckily someone called me up and told me that my identity had been stolen in regard to my notary stamp. I obtained a copy of what was notarized, the signature did not match mine, and the stamp they were using was round and Minnesota requires a rectangular stamp. I followed proper protocol per the State of Minnesota and reported it to my local police department, the Minnesota Secretary of States Office, and the Minnesota Department of Commerce. There is nothing more they can or will do for me. They know that it is not me because my signature is on file everywhere and the stamp they used was round not rectangular as Minnesota requires. The detective told me that he is actively pursuing the case as identity theft but does not hold out much hope of finding them as they have traced it to Mexico.
The detective, the Secretary of State, and the Department of Commerce told me that this happens all the time. Usually it is them contacting the notary to inform them that their identity was stolen rather than the notary calling them. They said that unfortunately since everything is public information on the internet, it is the risk we take. The Mexican time share scam has been going on for many years and the Minnesota Department of Commerce actually has a division set up that works these cases. These scam companies have gotten quite elaborate and actually file business names, set up fake addresses, get local telephone numbers, letterhead, websites that have pictures of the people that supposedly work there, and they steal the identities of local notaries, real estate agents, and escrow officers to look legitimate. The Department of Commerce told me that they almost never catch them because they aren't even operating in this country. All they can do is take the complaints and send out cease and desist letters . . . that is all they do.
This is just another example why we should be compensated fairly in this industry. Our private information is out there for the entire world to see and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. You never know who can get their hands on it and what they may do with it.
Stay safe everyone.
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| Messages in this Thread |
|  Someone has my stamp -  Ilene C. Seidel on 6/24/17 8:22am |
|  You need to hookup with Peggy...she has encountered - Cheryl Elliott on 6/24/17 8:24am |
| OMG Ilene. So sorry to hear that & I'd be very upset, too. - MW/VA on 6/24/17 8:44am |
|  Call your SOS and see what advice they give you... - Cari on 6/24/17 9:25am |
|  FYI: OK SOS recommends adding a symbol (star, cross), etc. - Christine/OK on 6/24/17 9:59am |
| Oh No! You're absolutely correct, Ilene, that " someone in - Christine/OK on 6/24/17 9:20am |
| Re: Someone has my stamp - Ilene C. Seidel on 6/24/17 9:26am |
| TIA for keeping us updated, Ilene. n/m - Christine/OK on 6/24/17 10:00am |
| Re: Someone has my stamp - Luckydog on 6/24/17 10:26am |
| Ilene, I'm really sorry this has happened to you. - Michelle/AL on 6/24/17 11:04am |
| Re: Someone has my stamp - jojo_MN on 6/24/17 12:11pm |
 | They Don't Have Your Stamp - They Used Your Commission . . . - PegiT_MN on 6/24/17 12:15pm |
| Re: They Don - jojo_MN on 6/24/17 12:31pm |
| Re: They Don - PegiT_MN on 6/24/17 12:36pm |
|  Re: They Don - jojo_MN on 6/24/17 12:57pm |
|  Re: They Don - PegiT_MN on 6/24/17 1:03pm |
| Re: They Don - Ilene C. Seidel on 6/24/17 2:47pm |
| Re: They Don - Ilene C. Seidel on 6/24/17 2:42pm |
| wow, thanks for sharing your story Pegi. Can you imagine how - Cari on 6/25/17 10:29am |
| Re: wow, thanks for sharing your story Pegi. Can you imagine how - PegiT_MN on 6/25/17 10:46am |
| The owner of the 401K - Ilene C. Seidel on 6/24/17 2:40pm |
| Re: The owner of the 401K - pdl/cali on 6/24/17 2:56pm |
| I do. - Shoshana/AZ on 6/24/17 4:03pm |
| Re: I do. - Ilene C. Seidel on 6/24/17 8:12pm |
| Shoshana - Ilene C. Seidel on 6/24/17 8:13pm |
| RE: Your note above, Ilene, the PM system has been non- - Christine/OK on 6/24/17 11:57pm |
| P.S. Ilene, the PMs for those members with ACTIVE links to - Christine/OK on 6/25/17 12:09am |
| Christine: I don't have a black font, and I can't PM n/m - Stoli on 6/25/17 1:33am |
|  If you'd like to send a PM to a NR member and their alias - Christine/OK on 6/25/17 9:08am |
| Re: Shoshana - Shoshana/AZ on 6/25/17 9:18am |
| If you're a member of XYZ, they used to include Identity - MW/VA on 6/25/17 9:29am |
| I'm sure Shoshana knows this is Advertising, but the p/m - MW/VA on 6/25/17 9:28am |
| Re: I - Shoshana/AZ on 6/25/17 9:40am |
| Re: Someone has my stamp - CopperheadVA on 6/25/17 8:46am |
| Re: Someone has my stamp - Shoshana/AZ on 6/25/17 9:21am |
| CA is the most restrictive state when it comes to ordering - Cheryl Elliott on 6/25/17 9:29am |
| Re: CA is the most restrictive state when it comes to ordering - JanetK_CA on 6/25/17 6:57pm |
| Re: CA is the most restrictive state when it comes to ordering - VT_Syrup on 6/27/17 6:36am |
| When I started out, I'm sure I had to send it to NR when - MW/VA on 6/25/17 3:57pm |
