CrimeaPRESS reports:
Today, the authenticity of many notarial documents can be verified using a QR code — a machine-readable marking placed on the form. Since 2021, when the notary developed a service for checking documents using a QR code on the FNP portal, citizens have used it 256.6 thousand times. Most often, documents are checked by women. If we divide by age, then the most prudent are people from 25 to 34 years old. We tell you how an intricate black and white square helps to distinguish a real notarized document from a fake and which verification method is the most reliable.
The list of notarial documents on which the QR code is placed is fixed by law. Powers of attorney, wills, alimony agreements, spousal consents, all kinds of contracts and, in general, all documents certified as part of any bilateral or unilateral transactions must be marked. Also on the list are certificates. For example, about the right to inheritance or certifying certain facts. Another code is applied when it comes to a writ of execution, securing evidence, protesting a bill of exchange and a document the time of presentation of which was certified by a notary.
You need to check the authenticity of a notarial document using a QR code using special service on the portal of the Federal Notary Chamber (FNP) — only in this way can you be sure of the accuracy of the verification. Analytics data show that women resort to it more often than men (55% and 45%, respectively). The majority of users (70%) access the service via smartphone. Citizens aged 25-34 remain the most prudent — they account for 34% of all checks. In second place (32%) are people who are 35-44 years old. Persons aged 45 to 54 years old account for 15% of all requests to the online service.
Where to look for the QR code
A two-dimensional barcode is placed once at the end of the document — in the lower right corner. It shouldn’t be on the back side. If the document consists of several sheets, they are stapled and numbered, and a gluing mark is placed on the stitching. That is, the notary ensures the integrity of the document, so there is no need to “produce” a QR code on each page.
In this case, the marking must appear on the document regardless of where the notary certified it — in the office or on the road. In some situations, a document with a QR code can be prepared in advance. In some cases, the notary takes with him a “gentleman’s kit”: printer, laptop, stamp.
Please note that the QR code is only placed on paper. Digital documents are protected differently — by an enhanced qualified electronic signature (ECES) of a notary. Information systems that involve a mechanism for exchanging electronic documents are able to check such documents automatically. In addition, you can check an electronic document using special services. For example, at State Services. But let’s return to the QR code.
How to verify its authenticity
There are many resources on the Internet that allow you to generate QR codes, but notaries have their own special software with which machine-readable markings are affixed to notarial documents. It encodes information about the notarial act: its type, date of commission, registration number, full name and notarial district of the notary, as well as information about the applicants. It is enough to compare the data displayed when scanning the QR code with the information from the text of the notarial document to ensure its accuracy.
What if someone tries to copy the markings or generate the code in another program and apply it to a fake document? Such tricks are stopped. The fact is that all notarial documents are entered into the Unified Information System (UIS) of the notary office. No third parties can delete them, overwrite them or add files on their own. A check using the QR code will show whether there is a document with such details in the secure internal notary databases. If not, it will be revealed. The main thing is that the check itself is carried out correctly.
Fraudsters can not only forge notarial documents, but also create fake websites to verify them using a QR code. The trick can work if the check is carried out not through the service on the FNP portal, but directly through the smartphone’s camera. Trap sites are usually made in the image and likeness of real ones; it can be difficult for ordinary citizens to notice the catch. There are known cases when swindlers tried, for example, to sell someone else’s apartment using a fake supposedly notarized power of attorney. The person used the camera from his phone and ended up on a fake look-alike website. And there, of course, the validity and correctness of the power of attorney was confirmed, although in fact it was a high-quality fake.
To avoid encountering a fake website when independently checking a power of attorney or other notarized document, it is recommended to do this only through special service on the FNP portal. That is, do not use the scanner program directly from the phone, but go to the official page service, click the “Check” button there, allow access to the camera of your smartphone or computer and scan the ID on the document. This is the only way to guarantee reliable information and avoid duplicate sites with false data.
source: Notary Chamber of the city of Sevastopol
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