How to spot a fake Apostille NYC

Apostille stamp: beware of fraud!

In the United States alone, about a million Apostille stamps are issued per year. The more the world gets global, activities such as citizens are relocating, doing business, retiring, and adopting children in foreign countries increase. These activities require obtaining an Apostille of the relevant documents. Apostille process requires the use of money, and this is what attracts thieves and amateurs. This has happened with apostille services in New York, many of which are advertised online. Most fake apostille services take either of the following strategies to con you:

i. They take your money and important documents which you send them by mail and then take forever to deliver what they promised.

ii. They return documents to you with fake apostille seals. These you will never know until you refer those documents to a foreign government or agency. Many fake apostille operations are usually done outside the United States (Britain or other parts of Europe) which is the real catch. This makes the alternatives available to the victim very limited.

The below tips will help you in identifying the right apostille agencies:

1. Get an apostille services company from the United States

You should protect yourself by making sure that you deal with a company from the United States. There is no need for you to send your documents to a company located overseas, which later sends the documents to an apostille office located in the United States. We do not deny that there may be real companies that operate overseas, but if by bad luck you happen to choose a fake one, and then you will have limited recourse as long as they are not located in the United States.

2. How long has Apostille services agency in NYC been operating?

Conduct some research to know the time the apostille agency in NYC has been on operation. Check the time their website has been up, the person registered to it and if you can get any online recommendations from individuals who have used them in the past. The U.S. expat dialog groups are very useful for this purpose. The main reason to this is because most of the members of these chat groups have at least once passed through the process of getting an Apostille stamp.

3. Is the site of the apostille agency you are visiting legitimate?

If you are not careful, you may be dealing with a copy of another authentic website. Check the URL closely, if the wording is close to that of another famous site and examine carefully. Some con artists can decide to make an imitation of an original website. Their trick is that the payments you make are directed to another address.

4. If the Apostille takes few wire transfers, then it is a strong hint that it may be a fraud.

Be keen and attentive while dealing with agencies offering an Apostille in NYC, and you will never have issues in selecting a reliable apostille service in NYC. For assurance, it is better that you handle your documents yourself and bring them to the agency personally. This way you will be sure that Apostille Stamp services agency is real, the legitimate routes will be followed, and authentic Apostille stamps will be received. If still you are in doubt, then give us a call or visit our Apostille agency in Brooklyn, NYC.