Please review all emails you receive, especially unsolicited ones. I verified that this email request was a scam after seeing a few glaring issues. The lack of paying attention to detail can cost you.
Research is key before you disregard and turn down work. This “appears” to be a legit company via a simple google search https://superiorabstract.com/. Call/email them to verify, (214-705-1310), after all, 123 Notary is a directory. The address on the website matches the address in the email they sent you. There are no “phishing” links, and they are providing you with the docs (not asking for you to collect/provide any financial info from you or the borrower). I have misspelled (typo) things in my signature line before, so that could be a simple oversight on their part. Things get marked “spam” at times simply if someone has never emailed you before and/or the way the email is worded. They are even asking you to email them an invoice and asking for your fee! Again, my suggestion, do your research before you turn down money, and on the flip side, you don’t want to give a company a “bad rep” because you jumped the gun and came to a conclusion that wasn’t verified through research. Just my two cents…
Sorry, you assumed I did not contact the company listed. This is a scam email that I verified did NOT come from Superior Abstract. The person listed doesn’t work at Superior Abstract, and yes it can hurt the company if this was not brought to their attention.
That hyperlink you see on the email for “SuperiorAbstract” is not one I would click on, since I know how to add a link and call it whatever I want to.
Try this link for example:
SuperiorAbstract.com
I wish you tranquillity.
1 Like
They used a Gmail account… Right there you know its a scam!
Oh, so you made the call? That was the bulk of my point! Verify before you deny. The link you provided, which is the same link I posted in my thread takes me to their website. Training on phishing emails (plenty of free ones out their through ALL email providers) proves beneficial also. If it was because it was simply a “Gmail” email that scared you, I wish you tranquility as well (business wise). A “.com” email address in required to run a business, run a website, or to send out an email for that matter, that’s all I was saying.
I have been running my business, my website and using Gmail for years with no issues. My gmail email is listed on all of my notary profiles. I deal with all my clients through Google 1 (formerly G-suite). I can’t even count how many signings I got from companies using Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, Hotmail, etc. email accounts. Its the the email service they are using to reach you that should scare you, it’s what’s IN the email you need to look for. If banks used this practice of not providing business with their borrowers based on their email address, they would lose out on A LOT of business.
1 Like
Most Legit signing / Title companies use their official company emails not a gmail account email. The Financial Service Industry as you know is heavy on regulations when it comes to email communication. Gmail does not meet those strict requirements. I personally don’t do business with companies who do not take the time or money to protect my personal information if my money and person information is being involved
1 Like
I hear ya, and that’s more of a personal preference as opposed to a “requirement.” How many companies did you do signings for where they wanted you to scan back via email (as not all go through a signing service or utilize a portal)? I get some may have concerns with privacy (and we all should), but docs get emailed back and forth all the time in our business. It’s not so much how you send or receive it, but rather how the user on each end “uses, handles and stores” that info is where the main privacy concerns arise. The only difference between all those email providers I listed and a “.com” email is your paying for the “.com” at the end of your email address. You would be amazed on how the privacy policies of the “free” email providers are more stringent than the “.com” email one pays for, ALL of which needs to meet certain federal guidelines, such as the (Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986). Regardless of which provider one “prefers,” the person sending or receiving the info becomes the owner of that info (responsible), this is because communicating via email is “legally binding” (hence subpoenas requesting emails/servers) with the courts, ESPECIALLY where contracts (loans) are the subject. Again, I was emphasizing the importance of what’s IN the email that needs to be scrutinized (as one can send a phishing email from a “.com” email as well), not so much WHERE/WHO the email came from.
I am not disputing your points… however… I am relying on the 18 years of training in the industry where they require annual Privacy and Security training by Financial Service representatives. One of their main point that they emphasize is the security risks involved in unsolicited emails received from free email accounts like Yahoo and Gmail. I am not saying that legit companies do not use free accounts however those emails need to be viewed with extreme caution. I do disagree with you about the level of security that those platforms provide over private secured email accounts belonging to companies that often have a privacy and security team and systems in place to protect personal information.
1 Like
At the end of the day, we don’t “really” know what they have in place internally, we have just what their privacy policy states (if they even have one posted). I never worked for a bank, but in the last 15 years I (personally) had 3 mortgages, a refinance, 4 auto loans and 2 auto refinances, and sent the banks all the info/docs they needed from me via my Gmail email and not one told me “sorry we can’t help you because of your email address.” Yes the emails requesting that info came from a “.com” email, but if it came from a Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook email then I simply make the call to verify. I know many people who were allowed to use their personal email for work purposes during COVID (working from home) because their company’s IT security requirements did not allow their employees to access the business server from a remote location. On a side note, you would be amazed on how many companies have a “.com or even a .gov” email address and contracted/purchased it through Gmail or Outlook service providers. I think one of the issues is some have become complacent with the “old ways” of email while not knowing how predominant the means of communicating via email has become, and how far it has evolved (because of regs) as a result.