Posted by notarydi/CA on 3/17/13 7:52pm
Msg #461769

uv light update....

well, apparently the reason the escrow wants borrs driver's licenses scanned with uv light is because there was some from fraud.....I did go to Office Depot and purchase a "Counterfeit Pen Light" for $11.49. One end of the pen is UV light for scanning i.d.'s, and the other is a marker like is used on currency/bills to tell if it's fake. Apparently, for CA driver's licenses, when the UV light is passed over the bottom half of the driver's license a row of "CA bears" appears.

I will go this extra step for this client, however, I am not sure I want to make it a regular practice. My concern is if I find myself in a situation and the I.D. is fake, do I really want to be in a room with criminals who now know I know? NOT. I'm a notary, not the i.d. police. To me it opens the door for all kinds of liability on the notary. sure hope this doesn't start trending......JMHO....thanks for listening.....

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 3/17/13 9:18pm
Msg #461773

U got me thinking ... If I had to do this, I'd mumble something about how notaries are now required to do check DLs blah blah blah, followed up with a chirpy "looks good!" even if the ID is as phony as Beyonce "signing" the national anthem at Obama's inauguration. Then report after the signing.

Or mumble something about how you left something very important in your car and flee (which I have actually done).

Requiring the notary to scan IDs with uv light is yet another empty-headed idea to drive us nuts - similar to providing a picture of yourself so they can send it to the borrowers before you show up - only this latest request could put you in a dangerous situation as you have described: "Sorry, sir, this is a phony ID and you are obviously attempting to commit loan fraud, you and your buddy here .. and I'm going to report this." Yeah, right. It's obvious escrow didn't think this through - or if they did, once again they don't give a hoot about the notary. Besides, I wouldn't trust any counterfeit pen light you can buy just anywhere.
What if it indicated the DL was phony when it wasn't? How about reallllly pissed off borrowers ... and guess who will get blamed?

Reply by John Tennant on 3/17/13 9:25pm
Msg #461774

How about "who gets assaulted???? Not a good idea in my book. I will not be doing it. If this is their requirement they can find another notary (sucker in my book).

Reply by notarydi/CA on 3/17/13 10:17pm
Msg #461776

yep, the more I think about it, the more it needs some more thought and prayer. Legal liability if you're wrong and i.d. is valid. personal danger issues.....can of worms.....

Reply by Buddy Young on 3/17/13 10:25pm
Msg #461777

Re: I won't do it. They can stick it........... n/m

Reply by Lee/AR on 3/17/13 10:41pm
Msg #461778

'because there was some fraud'... LOL. I'd like to see a show of hands (or posts)....how many of us have been thrown under the bus by SS, TC, LO, even Lender because we would NOT accept an ID that was far from the 'name as typed/vested'? Further, if a person is willing to attempt a fake ID for obvious financial gain reasons, what else might they do? Don't know about you, but I don't want to find out.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 3/17/13 11:10pm
Msg #461779

" if a person is willing to attempt a fake ID for obvious financial gain reasons, what else might they do? Don't know about you, but I don't want to find out."

Well, I've found out twice in my years of notary travels. I didn't (and don't) have one of those lights, but I could tell by looking at the ID that it was a fake. Couldn't put my finger on the problem at first, but something just looked off. I just said something like "I'm sorry, I can't accept this." They didn't even ask me why - 'cause they, of course, knew it was a fake and made no effort to try to convince me otherwise. It was a complete non-event both times. I just packed up my stuff and left. I'm not saying that would always be the case, but I thought I'd share that for what it's worth.

BTW, both instances were before the new CA DLs were issued. Those are much harder to counterfeit.

Reply by ananotary on 3/17/13 11:29pm
Msg #461781

Janet- Same experience here. n/m

Reply by Shoshana/AZ on 3/17/13 11:27pm
Msg #461780

Possible Fake DL

I was once almost assaulted at a signing. I actually had to run for my life to the safety of my car. If I suspected that a DL was fake, I would go through with the signing and get to the safety of my vehicle and report it. JMO

Reply by James Powell on 3/18/13 7:56am
Msg #461787

Really? "not the ID police"?

According to the State Handbook for California Notaries:

Identity of the signer can be established by the notary public’s reasonable reliance on the presentation of any one of the following documents, if the identification document is current or has been issued within five years (Civil Code section 1185(b)(3) & (4)):

1. An identification card or driver’s license issued by the California Department of Motor
Vehicles;

So, you should not take the step of looking for the information encoded by the State of California to ensure that the ID was issued by them? How can you be sure that it has been issued as outlined above and can be used for identification?

Sorry, ID police IS part of your job. Otherwise, how do you conform with the requirement that the ID is valid? And don't try to use the word 'reasonable'. The state put the UV notification so that a reasonable person could validate that it is a proper ID using readily available means.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 3/18/13 8:40am
Msg #461792

You're kidding, right?

"So, you should not take the step of looking for the information encoded by the State of California to ensure that the ID was issued by them? How can you be sure that it has been issued as outlined above and can be used for identification"

Why in the world would you need a uv light to determine this?

Reply by James Powell on 3/19/13 7:52am
Msg #461929

Re: You're kidding, right?

Because I assume that California is using a technique such as Michigan wherein a valid ID has information only seen under UV. Such information would not be found in a forgery, even if it looked authenticate to a surface inspection.

The state did not spend money putting information only available under UV on the DL for nothing.

Reply by MW/VA on 3/18/13 8:42am
Msg #461793

IMO this is another case of over-reaction & misinformation.

I'm not saying that there aren't cases of fake ID's. It's been discussed before that someone would have to go to extensive lengths to "stage" a fake signing at someone's home. I don't know about CA, but VA has a micro-chip in the D/L. I guess we would need a micro-chip reader--not!!!!!!
Brenda/TX posted a good blog on mortgage fraud a while back (msg. 436507). It's worth reading. ;-)

Reply by James Powell on 3/19/13 8:09am
Msg #461930

Re: IMO this is another case of over-reaction & misinformation.

VA also has a UV image of the State Seal and DMV logo.

http://services.dlas.virginia.gov/user_db/frmvscc.aspx?viewid=644

One does not need overkill, as the VA license points out there are multiple layers of security on the card. If you prefer to drop the card or snap it with your fingertip to listen for the ring and can identify the unique sound, more power to you.