States across the country are warning businesses about deceptive solicitations posing as government correspondence. Often citing state statutes and/or containing an official looking seal, these solicitations can fool unsuspecting and well-meaning businesses into paying for certificates, annual minutes, annual reports, renewal filings, and other compliance services that they may not need.
Recently, there has been an uptick in misleading communications relating to Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) services. Be wary of mailings labeled “Uniform Commercial Code Financing Statement Request Form” containing a response deadline and asking for your business information and payment in order to obtain information on UCC financing statements you have on file. Although these mailings may look official, they are pure solicitations.
In addition to sending misleading solicitations by mail and email, scammers have been calling businesses and posing as the Secretary of State’s office in an attempt to get the business to reveal company information and order unnecessary certificates and other documents.
If you have a question as to whether a piece of correspondence or phone call you receive is a sneaky solicitation from an unscrupulous scammer, feel free to reach out to us to investigate and verify.