Pottawattamie County Recorder's Office Launches New Notary Fraud Alert Service

Posted October 24, 2025
Posted by Recorder and Public Relations

The Pottawattamie County Recorder’s Office recently launched Notary Fraud Alert, a free online subscription service that helps protect public notaries from fraudulent use of their credentials.

Once enrolled, notaries can choose to receive daily, weekly, or monthly alerts whenever a document is recorded in Pottawattamie County that includes their name as the notary. Each alert includes the document number, type, and parties involved, making it easy to identify suspicious filings at a glance.

Notary fraud can occur when someone forges a signature, misuses a notary seal, or records a document without the required presence or authorization. These actions can lead to property theft, financial loss, and legal complications.

With incidents of forged or stolen notary information on the rise nationwide, Notary Fraud Alert provides an early warning system so notaries can take swift action if unauthorized recordings are detected.

Notary Fraud Alert complements the Recorder’s existing Property Fraud Alert program, another free subscription service that monitors property records for suspicious activity. Together, the two services offer residents and notaries additional protection against one of the fastest-growing types of white-collar crime.

“While these cases are still rare in Iowa, we know that fraud can happen anywhere,” said Andrew Moats, Pottawattamie County Recorder. “These tools don’t prevent fraud from occurring, but they do provide peace of mind by ensuring that if it does happen, notaries and property owners will be notified immediately.”

Both services are provided in partnership with Fidlar Technologies and are available to the public at no cost.

For more information or to enroll in Notary Fraud Alert or Property Fraud Alert, visit the Pottawattamie County Recorder’s Office website at PottCounty-IA.gov/recorder.