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Electronic Signature

1K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  IllusionX 
#1 ·
Does anyone have any insight into this concept and how it can possibly be considered legally the same as a regular signature?

I was just sent the first document (for me) asking for an electronic signature.
The document that required an "Electronic Signature" was processed by e-signlive.com, the document itself was a modification to an existing contract with a real estate company.
Just to give a bit of background.

So....
The link to the document to be signed came in a regulat email.
An email that anyone can easily intercept, so anyone could have picked up the link.

Clicking on the link then took me to the document where the electronic signature was required. The link itself was secure, as in https,but I don't think that is even relevant - anyone could have clicked on that link and get access to the ocument.

Then the "Electronic Signature" was simply a click with the mouse on a field in the document.
Anyone could have done that.
There was no validation of any kind that the person doing it was actually me.

I don't see how this would have any hope of standing up in a court of law if it ever came to that.
Am I missing something here?
Something that would actually validate that I essentially signed the document.
 
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#2 ·
Given the politicized nature of judge appointments I can and have seen things stand in court, that absolutely should not. I think this is more true soused of the border than here.

Will leave out the fishy smell for the moment. If someones wants a signed document by eMail a better route would be to sign and scan the paper copy, then send it along as an encrypted pdf attachment. The key here is that you contact the individual receiving the document and pass along the pass word to the encrypted pdf directly.
 
#3 ·
I have done e-signature for my RSP investments through a secure site from the investment/ life insurance company i deal with. It's perfectly legit and recognized by the gov.

I am not so sure about 3rd party e-sig though.
 
#4 ·
I don't really have any concerns about the specific document I just signed using e-signature - since I requested the document and it's beneficial to both myself and the realtor.
But thinking about it a bit more - there is not even any guaranty that the realtor actually signed the document - on his end anyone who had access to his email account could have sent it.

™ IllusionX - In your case was there any validation at least that you were you?
Like a bunch of questions only you would know the answer to?

I just signed up to on-line access to my CRAaccount.
Other than the sandard ID questions which people that know you might be able to answer correctly, CRA also asks for a specific amount from the 2014 tax return which theoretically only the taxpayer should have (and maybe an accountant or tax preparation firm) - that seems to be a relatively good way to identify a specific individual
 
#7 ·
I don't really have any concerns about the specific document I just signed using e-signature - since I requested the document and it's beneficial to both myself and the realtor.
But thinking about it a bit more - there is not even any guaranty that the realtor actually signed the document - on his end anyone who had access to his email account could have sent it.

™ IllusionX - In your case was there any validation at least that you were you?
Like a bunch of questions only you would know the answer to?

I just signed up to on-line access to my CRAaccount.
Other than the sandard ID questions which people that know you might be able to answer correctly, CRA also asks for a specific amount from the 2014 tax return which theoretically only the taxpayer should have (and maybe an accountant or tax preparation firm) - that seems to be a relatively good way to identify a specific individual
No, but I did it with my agent. But he could have checked the box and put my name for me and nobody would know.
 
#6 ·
I agree with krs, just say that email got sent to the wrong person, by accident
True enough,although I wasn't even thinking about that possible scenario.
I was wondering about all the ways that electronic signature could be compromised.

The person sending the document had to add my email address as a "Signer" to the E-Signpackage and the email with the link then came from E-Signlive.
The person who created the document had emailed me just before that he was going to send it for electronic signature, so if I hadn't received it I would have know something went astray.

But Yeah, if he had sent the wrong email address as a "Signer" they would have received the email and would have had access to the document meant for me.
 
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