BBB Warns of Scam Targeting New Businesses

Thursday, March 11th, 2021 -- 12:00 PM

(WMTV) -The Wisconsin Better Business Bureau and the state Department of Financial Institutions is warning businesses about a misleading letter.

The target is new businesses, mainly those that recently filed LLC paperwork with the state. The letter appears to come from the Secretary of State and requests a payment of more than $70 for a “Certificate of Status”.

Once a company files paperwork with the state it becomes public record. It appears scammers are targeting these businesses and trying to solicit payments for paperwork they likely already paid for when registering their businesses.

The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions now has a warning about the misleading solicitation on its main web page.  There is a $10 fee from DFI to obtain an official certificate of status online.

The department says this letter is solicitation and it’s not a valid invoice. Businesses are advised not to pay it.

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