Fraud Alert: Fraudulent Secretary of State Communications Targets Small Businesses in Washington | Idaho

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson is warning of a scammer posing as the Secretary of State’s office targeting small businesses in Washington. The scam letters demand payments that far exceed the cost of state business registrations and threaten business owners with fines or the dissolution of their businesses if they fail to comply. The Secretary of State has also received reports of similar telephone scams targeting Latin American companies, which also involved threats of imprisonment.

Since early November, the Attorney General’s Office has received at least 40 complaints about these letters demanding payments to “Washington State business entities.”

“Scammers can be sophisticated, but don’t be fooled,” Ferguson said. “Be on the lookout for signs of fraud. If you believe you have been the target of a scam, contact my office.”

The letters, which contain the Washington state seal, are intended to look like official government communications. Not only do they demand excessive fees, but they also threaten late payment surcharges or penalties if payment is not made on time. One example showed a “billing summary” of more than $200 for filings that are either unnecessary or could be done directly with the Secretary of State for much less.

The letters are addressed directly to companies and may be marked with their UBI (Unified Business Identifier) ​​number, making the letter appear official. However, company names and UBIs are publicly available and not confidential.

There are indications that the letter is a scam. For example, a letter shared with the Attorney General’s Office lists on the letterhead an address for the Washington Secretary of State in Sacramento, California, and a post office box in “Olympia, California.” The QR code on the letter directs business owners to a website ending in .org, as opposed to the Secretary of State’s real website, which ends in .gov.

If you receive a letter like this, contact the Secretary of State’s office to inquire about the status of your business records. If you have already paid after receiving the letter, you should consider stopping payment through your financial institution.

Any business or nonprofit organization that believes it is the target of a fraud should file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office.