When we think of scam artists, we usually think of them in terms of embezzlement but there are other forms of scam artists that are prevalent in the dental and medical world. Two forms of scams have been brought to our attention by our clients nationwide so we will summarize them here so you don’t fall victim.
In each of these scams, the sender will send you an “official” looking letter that appears to be sent to you by either your state’s Secretary of State or by a federal agency notifying you that either you are out of compliance with your state’s corporate compliance requirement or federal trademark publication requirements. There are several variations of these scams so be sure to contact us if you have received in a letter in question and we can verify if it is legitimate.
These letters rely on the fact that you are a busy professional and because they use logos and other wording that makes them look legitimate you simply assume that it is and send them a check for a few hundred dollars. The Federal Trade Commission and other agencies have sued these groups but these letters are still being sent.
We are attaching a sample for you to review. As you can see, the letter is endorsed or approved by a legitimate government entity and furthermore, no government entity would list this type of information. Therefore, if you receive any letter or correspondence with this or similar type of verbiage, it would be in your best interest to do your due diligence by investigating further and contacting an attorney. You can also report this to the consumer protection division of your State’s Attorney General’s Office.
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