Important Clarification & Reminder, Plus Something Completely Different

Dear Members,

Rain, rain, rain……but that's better than snow, snow, snow…….This week I have two reminders and then something different from the normal topics.

REMOTE NOTARIZATION REMINDER:  Please remember that NEITHER the passage of the RON law in Florida nor the Florida Supreme Court administrative order allows a notary to use Zoom, Skype, FaceTime or other similar technology TO TAKE THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF A PRINCIPAL ON A DEED, MORTGAGE OR OTHER DOCUMENT (INCLUDING AN AFFIDAVIT) TO BE RECORDED.  I am a little surprised that we continue to get questions about this so a clarification was needed. If you have any questions, though, do not hesitate to reach out.  Happy to discuss this with you!  Attached FYI is the applicable Supreme Court order in case you want to review it again.  https://www.thefund.com/information-center/pdf/digital-closings/florida-supreme-court-aosc20-23-amendment-8.pdf

CYBER FRAUD REMINDER.  We have talked and talked about the threat that cyber-criminals pose to your business.  But I am going to continue this discussion because several situations have come up recently in which the Member was duped into sending the mortgage payoff to a fraudulent account.  In all situations, if the Member had paid scrupulous attention to the payoff statement, they would have detected some suspicious stuff.  You must carefully review the statement.  Pay attention to the receiving bank and the name on the account.  Pay attention to the fax number or email address from which it was sent. Do not rely on payoff statements provided to you by anyone other than one you ordered directly from the bank (this includes other attorneys or Fund Members).  For goodness sakes, do not rely on a payoff of the seller's mortgage that comes from the seller!  And be particularly careful with updated payoffs.  Make sure that the account number and all other information is the same as on the original payoff statement.  And I have probably not covered all the possible areas of funny business by the criminal.  BE CAREFUL!

And now for something completely different…….Our Sales Team is here to support you and help you be as successful as possible…..one of the ways  we do that is to have great leadership on our sales team.  We are looking to fill a key leadership position right now and would love to hear from you if you have any referrals or ideas for us……..perhaps you would be interested in using your knowledge of the industry and the Florida market in a different way!  If so, just reach out to me and I will put you in touch with the right folks here at The Fund.

That's all for this week.  Let me know how we can help you.
 

Melissa Jay Murphy
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer,
General Counsel and Secretary