State officials in Mississippi are urging the public to beware of scammers who send documents that appear to originate from a government agency.
Specifically, small business owners are urged to review notices to assist in filing annual reports for for-profit businesses and LLCs operating in Mississippi. Per officials, these services are available for free through the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office.
“Small businesses have enough to do trying to keep their products on the shelves, their employees paid, and their customers happy,” Attorney General Lynn Fitch said.
“Sometimes there just is not enough time to pay close attention to the emails and mail they get so they end up falling for a government imposter letter,” she continued. “Some of these letters are slick, but not malicious, and the business may end up paying for something they could get for free from a government agency. But some are actual scam artists who can expose the business to a loss of valuable private information.”
Impersonation scams come in a variety of forms, such as:
- Business impersonation scams — Common examples include tech scams in which the imposters claim they are contacting the victim on behalf of companies like Microsoft or Apple to assist with a ransomware or technology issue or upgrade.
- Person-to-Person scams — Common examples are grandparent scams, in which a person claims a grandchild is in urgent need of money, and romance scams, in which a person gains trust with the victim through an online dating site to get money for a new love interest.
- Government entity impersonation scams — Common examples include mailings that look like official government documents seeking to get payment from the victim to obtain licensing or to achieve regulatory compliance.
Last year, the Attorney General’s Office warned an advertising company soliciting services to help companies file annual reports with the Secretary of State’s Office. The unspecified business was allegedly using Mississippi’s state flag on its documents and offering services at a fee of up to several hundred dollars, which officials argued could pose legal issues.
In response to the state’s notice that the filings could pose potential violations of the Mississippi Consumer Protection Act, the advertising company made several changes, including eliminating the state flag from its seal, to make it clear that its communication was not an official government mailing.
The changes the advertising company made to its mailing practices are examples of what citizens should look for to distinguish true government mail from imposters, including:
- A notice on the face of the mailing that the services offered by the advertisement are available to Mississippi consumers free of charge or for a lesser price from the Mississippi Secretary of State and that the consumer is not required to purchase from the advertiser.
- A website or email address that ends in “.org” or “.com” and not “.gov”.
- A notice on the face of the mailing that the advertiser is not a government agency or affiliated with the Secretary of State’s Office or any other federal or state entity.
- A notice that the business registration information used to develop the mailing has been obtained from public records.
A government agency or financial institution will never call and ask for one’s personal information. If one wants to verify the legitimacy of a call, that person can contact the agency or institution with contact information that you have or is publicly available.
