Corporate Scams Abound

At this point, none of us should be surprised to discover that yet another state has fallen victim to corporate scams. The most recent alert that I stumbled upon was issued by the North Carolina Secretary of State (NC SOS). According to the PDF released by the NC SOS, a company called the National Companies Register Corporation is mailing “Important Final Notices” to businesses. These notices claim that North Carolina-based businesses are required to nationally register under the Patriot Act of 2001. The required fee? A whopping $487.

The official-looking documents that are being mailed out contain elements of the North Carolina Seal, which is very deceptive. NC SOS warned that no such governmental national registry exists.

The NC SOS is asking businesses to report any fraudulent notices that ask you to “register your business in a national database to avoid dissolution of your corporation.” Here’s how to report it:
1. Keep the notice, mailing envelope and return envelope.
2. Contact the United States Postal Inspections Service to report mail fraud at:
877-876-2455 or http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov (investigations drop down menu – mail fraud – file a complaint)
and
Contact the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Attention: Horace Farrar at 919-807-2040 or email at hfarrar@sosnc.com.

As always, we are interested in identifying and notifying our clients of additional scams so please let us know if you receive anything suspicious.

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