Scam alert. Small businesses, Watch out for this one.

Time to get back to one of my more favorite subjects, which is scams that other people are perpetrating to try to separate you from your hard-earned cash and this time the scams are focusing on small business owners. 

According to BigCountryNewsConnection.com,
‘Attorney General Bob Ferguson is warning of a scammer posing as the Secretary of State’s Office targeting Washington small businesses. The scam letters demand payment well beyond the cost of state business filings and threaten business owners with fines or dissolution of their business for failing to comply.’  

The Attorney General's Office has received over 40 reports of this scam since early November, and it seems to be very sophisticated. Letters are designed to look like official government documents with the state seal including billing summaries and final amounts due that must be paid to “State of Washington business entities.” 

This is a scam, and it preys on our basic fears that we may have missed something somewhere in our licensing and operation process for a small business. There are also similar scams like this being perpetrated on the phone to Latino businesses. 

If you get a letter like this, the easy tip-off is that the scammer can't seem to separate Washington and California addresses. For instance, mentioning the Attorney General's office in Sacramento, CA, not in Washington state. Or saying Olympia, CA. Also, you'll notice that the QR code sends you to a web address with a .org designation not .gov. 

Being skeptical, don't be fooled. Don't get scammed. 

Scam Alert: Fraudulent Secretary of State Notices Targeting Washington Small Businesses | Idaho | bigcountrynewsconnection.com 

File a Complaint | Washington State