Dear Notaries
It recently came to Council’s attention that Stamps Plus were promoting pre-embossed Notary Seals.
Council’s view is that such seals should not be used. There have been incidents where Notary seals have been removed from the original documents and placed on fraudulent documents. On the face of it (no pun intended) it appears to be a legitimate seal until you realise that the underlying paper has not been embossed.
As a precaution against such frauds some members place their embossing only partially on the seal, overlapping on to the plain paper. Other members place their rubber stamp so part of that is on the seal.
Council approached Stamps Plus and explained their concerns to them. They immediately withdrew their promotion in the Notary Public products section of their website and will not be providing them to Notaries.
More recently admitted members will be aware of the services provided by Stamps Plus. They source seal presses for new members as well as providing a design service to create the personalised seal. They also stock and supply a full range of stick-on seals.
Council are grateful for the service the Company provides our members and their immediate response to the concerns when explained to them.
Tracey Merlini
Secretary
NZ Society of Notaries