For years, federal trademark and patent application owners have been the target of scammers seeking payment for services that are neither required nor provided.
Recently, however, it appears that scammers are finding new ways to collect data and unnecessary payments from owners of state registered businesses. Specifically, business owners in Maine and other states are receiving fraudulent notices, including notices relating to annual report filings and beneficial ownership information reporting.
These fake solicitations appear to be official government forms, but they are not. The scammers create a false sense of urgency by providing incorrect filing deadlines and requesting prompt payment.
If you receive such a notice, we recommend you contact legal counsel before responding or remitting payment. Specific attributes to look for include:
A filing date inconsistent with legitimate filing deadline with relevant government agency
Most states have standard filing deadlines.
- In Maine, annual reports are due June 1.
- In Massachusetts, annual reports for corporations are due March 15, and annual reports for LLCs are due on the anniversary of the LLC’s formation date.
- In Rhode Island, the filing deadline for most entities is May 1.
- In New Hampshire, the filing deadline is April 1.
If the form reports an incorrect deadline, the notice is likely a scam.
Fee is inconsistent with legitimate filing fee
As with filing deadlines, most states have uniform fees.
- In Maine, the filing fee for an annual report is $85 for domestic business entities and $35 for nonprofits.
- In Massachusetts, the filing fee for an annual report is $135 for corporations, $25 for nonprofits, and $520 for LLCs.
- In Rhode Island, the filing fee for most entities is $52.50.
- In New Hampshire, the filing fee is $102.
Some scammers are requesting payments as high as 500% of the statutory filing fees.
Illegitimate contact information
Illegitimate email addresses and addresses not associated with a government office are indicators that the form is a scam.
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