In today's digital age, the internet is rife with fraudsters. Fraud cases are rising, costing people their private information and significant financial losses. According to a survey last year, American consumers reported losing more than $5.8 billion to fraud, while almost 2.8 million consumers filed fraud reports. Some of the typical fraud schemes include peddling fake health products and filing unemployment benefits in victims' names.

The rise in fraud and crime rates across the board in recent years has led to a growing demand for trained professionals in the industry. Criminal justice programs focusing on understanding criminality, the law, and its enforcement are expanding both online and offline. This is in order to meet the demand for such professionals, especially as the overall employment of police and detectives is expected to grow by 5% from 2019 to 2029 — faster than average for all occupations, with over 59,000 new jobs available each year. While these programs produce professionals with the skills to combat fraud, it can be hard for them to do it alone. This is where notaries come in, providing the fight against fraud some much-needed additional support. In this article, we'll look at how notaries help stop the rise of fraud:

Extra steps and safeguards

One of the reasons people rely on notaries and notary publics is because they are often a safeguard for most transactions, contracts, and financial agreements that can help prevent future accusations of wrongdoings or errors. We've previously written about our elite culture of legal professionals who notarize for big businesses, private citizens, loan offices, medical facilities, and title companies. Most good notary services believe that two is better than one. Working with title companies can help create convenience for the client while keeping title companies compliant with all parties involved. As the number of fraud cases is high, clients who rely on the expertise and diligence of notary publics can rest assured knowing their needs are covered on all bases.

Reduce critical errors

As with most other services in recent years, notary services have shifted towards digital-first. A study from earlier this year found that remote online notarization (RON) drives impactful ROI for title companies and lenders. As notary services adopt technologies that make electronic closing and online notarization possible, they found that notaries can be closed faster, save more money for clients involved, as well as a significant reduction of errors in the process. Digital means of notarizing are also found to reduce time spent on each case, as technologies help avoid missed signatures and unnecessary reworks. Survey respondents admit that the process can now be done with the same or even fewer staff. The reduced errors in e-closings also prevent fraud, as it leaves little space for wrongful accusations or loss of documents involved.

Detailed recordkeeping

Whether you're opting for traditional notary services or adopting RON for its convenience and efficiency, all notarization processes require detailed and meticulous journaling of the process. This ensures a notary public has an accurate and detailed record of all relevant closing information, even if a closing does not follow through due to missing requirements. While not many states require notaries to keep notary journals, most officials will maintain one anyway to ensure each notarial act is well-documented. This is especially crucial to prevent fraud and scams, as a well-maintained record can help avoid unnatural changes or false accusations and protect the rights of everyone involved in the notarization process.

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Written by Riane James