We often get the following questions from new business owners:
How can I already have an unpaid invoice when I never performed the service? nIs a solicitation for a business document legal? Have I been scammed?
How can I better identify true scam mail?
What is Scam Mail?
Corporate Scam Mail is a term used for any mail letter solicitation received in the mail. These letters attempt to imitate official documents in order to trick business owners into paying them, often performing services to file documents for you.
They are designed to impart a sense of urgency – that is, they want to make you pay them before you realize there’s a problem.
Common Example:
“I received corporate scam mail, it was a solicitation for a Certificate of Good Standing for $80! The problem was that I already received this document after paying $15 to the state.”
Why this Isn’t Illegal
Businesses specializing in offering a service to file are legal. Those businesses involved in offering you the service to file a document for you via mail solicitation are not illegally operating as all of your business’ documents are public record and payment of the fee is your decision in return for the service.
Here are a few tips to keep you and your business away from such tricks:
A quick scan of the small print can often reveal the scam.
Look for Disclaimers
Some sort of disclaimer is mandatory! You may find hidden in the body of the text, something to the effect of: “This product or service has not been endorsed by any official government entity. And, this office is not being made by a government agency.” If you don’t see that anywhere, sometimes they will use the term “non-governmental” somewhere in the fine print.
Requests for payment from third parties will be labeled somewhere, as shown in a sample received from several California clients:
Seen above: An example of the kind of disclaimer found on scam mail.
Think about the cost
We’ve found that the cost is always considerably more than the document filing actually costs (sometimes up to $300 for a one-page form).
Check the URL
If a website is listed on the letter in question, be sure it ends in “.gov”. If it doesn’t, it’s almost guaranteed to be a third party.
Unsure?
Contact Omni Resources with a photo and we’ll tell you if your document is something to worry about.
Questions?
Call (888) 882-8483
clients@omniresources.net
Editor’s note: Nothing in this blog post should be construed as advice of any kind. Any legal, financial or tax-related content is provided for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for obtaining advice from a qualified legal or accounting professional.