RALEIGH – NC Secretary of State Elaine Marshall is cautioning investors that the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic will likely spark a surge of investment fraud.

“Sadly, scam artists will seek to exploit rising concerns about COVID-19 to draw people into investment traps,” Marshall said on Tuesday. “Fraudsters often use the days’ headlines in their pitches, so expect to see them prey on the fear surrounding the unfolding Coronavirus pandemic and recent economic developments to promote sham investments.”

The North American Securities Administrators Association, of which the NC Secretary of State’s Office is a member, is joining state regulators in offering tips to keep investors safe in these uncertain times.

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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (March 27, 2020) – Truliant Federal Credit Union announced today that it has completed its first end-to-end electronic mortgage eClosing. It was performed in Winston-Salem by a Truliant employee who works at the company’s headquarters.

“Today marks another big step forward in North Carolina’s electronic mortgage closing initiative. We’re very excited to have Truliant on board as the first credit union in our State offering fully electronic mortgage closings,” said North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall.

She added: “This is truly a win-win-win for home buyers, the business sector and the government sector in making the mortgage closing process less time consuming, less stressful, and even more secure.”

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RALEIGH – NC Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall is urging consumers in North Carolina to keep a wary eye out for counterfeit products including hand sanitizer, gloves and face masks amid rising concerns about coronavirus.

“Sadly, scam artists will use our fear against us in situations such as this,” noted Secretary Marshall on Monday. “With many stores and online retailers currently sold out of hand sanitizer we know that counterfeiters may take advantage of this public health concern, so I ask consumers to use caution. Just as you aren’t likely to see legitimatehand sanitizer being sold from unusual places such as roadside stands, you should also be wary when you see a new vendor with low ratings selling these items online. Productsthat don’t meet safety standards may put you at greater risk than simply continuing tofollow experts’ recommendations for frequent thorough hand washing.”

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RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall co-sponsored a bipartisan resolution adopted unanimously by the National Association of Secretaries of State this week that supports use of the .GOV domain by state, local, tribal, and territorial governments. The Secretary of State’s Office in North Carolina provides valuable information on business registration, business licensing, charitable solicitors, lobbyists, investment advisers, and other crucial data relied on by the financial industry. Other Secretaries of State across the nation are responsible for voter registration and elections.

“Websites for the North Carolina Secretary of State and other governmental entities across the state and nation are trusted sources of information,” said Marshall. “In this era of cyber threats, misinformation, and disinformation campaigns, the security and user-confidence that comes with the use of a .GOV domain by government organizations is important for our citizens and businesses.”

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Beyond the presidential and congressional elections next year, at the state level voters will choose a new governor, lieutenant governor, Council of State and all 170 members of the General Assembly. Republicans will try to maintain their majority in both the House and Senate and even return to a veto-proof supermajority, while Democrats aim to take control of either or both chambers.

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SALISBURY — To many, North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall is a champion for the cause of women in elected office. When Marshall was first elected in 1996, she became the first woman in North Carolina history to be elected to a statewide executive office.

It’s a responsibility she takes seriously, Marshall told Girls State participants Tuesday.

High school-age girls from across the state have gathered at Catawba College this week to learn the ins and outs of local, county and state government through the program’s rich-immersion experience.

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RALEIGH– Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall is urging North Carolina businesses not to fall for a mailing prompting them to pay a $78 fee to get a “Certificate of Status” from the NC Secretary of State’s Office.

The Secretary of State’s Office has received reports that a Florida company, Filing Labor Compliance Department Services (FLCD), is mailing out a “2019 Certificate of Status Request” form to recently formed companies. The misleading mailing implies that business entities are required to obtain a “Certificate of Status”.

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N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall spoke Thursday evening at the Charlotte Business Journal’s International Trade Awards program at The Ritz-Carlton, where she received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

She says the American way of offer and counter offer doesn’t resonate in most cultures when the deal-making begins.

“That simply doesn’t cut it in international trade,” she says.

During her 21 years as secretary of state, Marshall has met often with international delegations, posed for many photos with foreign dignitaries and shared many meals with heads of state and corporate executives. Often, a trade delegation from a foreign nation will show those photos to leaders in their country to prove that the delegation was respected on their North Carolina visits, Marshall says.

“I know it is important for me to be there,” she says. Her staff estimates that she attends up to 50 international events each year. She’s already up to 45 for 2017, so it looks like this year will be above average for international contact.

“People want reliability,” she reiterates. “They want continuity.”

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You might not realize this, given some of the recent political bluster, but North Carolina has one of the best, if not the best, notary public programs in our nation.

Our great reputation is thanks to the high standards that aspiring notaries must meet, and to the cutting-edge notary public innovations we have developed in North Carolina. These efforts have earned significant recognition with the National Notary Association’s highest national Achievement Award and earlier this month the National Association of Secretaries of State Medallion Award for "outstanding leadership in business services and electronic governance issues.”

Recent breakthroughs in advancing how notaries public help businesses and the public include our “Find-A-Notary” search engine. It allows anyone using the web to locate the nearest notary public who has said they are available to serve walk-ins. Another advancement is our electronic notary or “eNotary” program—a 21st Century safe and secure way to notarize electronic documents moving at the speed of the internet itself. Details of these programs can be found in the Notary section of sosnc.gov.

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