Scott: I agree with you on a number points, it is not my job to see to it that the documents that are put to record  do not contain information that might be sensitive, the Clerk's are charged with that duty.So, what I get is what I get- most ,if not all of the docs that contain SS#'s have been either fixed or removed , such as marriage certificates and any other doc, like trust , etc, has them removed before scanning.

As far as the off shore thing- It can't occur here in Virginia- all subscribers to any of the on line systems must be US Citizens, all sites are secure sites (https: instead of http:) and there is a very tight sign-on and  password encryption system that eliminates any hacking at all-and they know who we are too. I have not heard of any outsider being able to break into these systems, and they are not that difficult to institute -plans are to have the entire state on line by July of 2006- so they all have the system here to prevent outside access.The fees for access is about $100/month for each county and most want the fee paid for the entire yr in advance too-some give us a break, thank goodness. I do work in the 4 counties in Northern Va. closest to Dc and it cost's about $4000 for me to access them per yr. While anyone that submits the agreement and meets all the requirements can have access, not many interlopers have the funds, time or title plant to  process cases anyway.Most of the clerk's offices have all reduced the size of the record rooms anymore because the crowds that used to be, no longer are a problem. Sorry to ramble, but these things seem to be something that is of concern to a number of people on here- I just want to let them know it can work, if administered properly.
Enough for the night.Steve