Basic facts here are wrong, A NY notary does not have a seal - what they have is a stamp that contains the information required on a notarization. The notary can either print it out by hand or use a stamp - the stamp is NOT required, it's a convenience that most NY notaries use rather than printing 5 lines of information with each notarization.
There is no seal that can be stolen. If anything is stolen, it's the commission number and expiration date. ANYONE in NY can get a stamp made at Staples or wherever with that information, and you can get that information very easily because it appears on public records such as mortgages. The signature would be forged, and the notary would have no clue that their commission number was being used by someone else until the cops show up at their door. It's probably also possible for the bad actor to just make up a commission number.
So if the author and/or editor are too lazy to check basic facts, what else did they miss?
Also, regarding comments about fingerprinting and training - in NY, you are given a booklet that explains NY Notary Law. There are companies that offer training, but training is not necessary - just read the booklet and try to retain the info. The test is not that difficult - I don't recall how many questions there were, but they're all multiple choice, are all covered in the booklet, and you had to get 60% correct to pass. When I went for my test, there were people there who were taking the test for the third or fourth time, so either they were all slow learners or they didn't bother to study the booklet.
When you appear for the test, the proctor takes a thumbprint. I assumed that was part of the background check, but that's it as far as fingerprinting is concerned. NY notaries are not required to use a journal, and if they do use a journal they are neither required to nor prohibited from taking a thumbprint for real estate transactions as happens in other states.
Finally, an anecdote to give you an idea of the quality of notaries in NY. My companion at the time was refinancing her house. I had just started as an NSA but because of the potential conflict couldn't act as her notary, but I sat in to observe. This young guy comes in with all the paperwork, they go through it all, she signs, he signs and stamps, it goes very quickly. He gets up to leave, and at the door turns around like Columbo and says, "By the way, can I see your ID?" No joke... |
