AG: Small businesses should ignore compliance solicitations

Attorney General Raúl Labrador and Secretary of State Phil McGrane are warning Idaho’s small businesses about misleading ads offering business compliance filings including certificates of existence or UCC statements.

The mailings, which demand large fees, look like government forms and include deadlines to create a false sense of urgency. Idaho businesses rarely, if ever, need the advertised documents, and if they do, they can obtain them directly from the Secretary of State.

“I’ve directed my Consumer Protection Division to investigate these deceptive mailings,” Labrador said. “Idaho’s small business owners shouldn’t have to deal with scams like these.”

The Attorney General and Secretary of State have received several complaints from Idaho businesses that received misleading solicitations from ID UCC Statement Service, Corporate Certificates, LLC, Compliance Filing Division Services, Filing Compliance Solution Services, and ID Certificate Services. Some of the solicitations have Idaho addresses on them but these companies are based in Florida. The Idaho addresses on the solicitations are drop boxes, not physical locations.

“Scams like this are to be taken very seriously. Anyone who receives this, or similar scams, should contact the Attorney General’s office immediately so action can be taken,” McGrane said. “Idaho is the friendliest state to start and maintain a business. We must look out for small businesses and hold scam artists accountable. Business owners can visit my website to obtain official documents and file their annual reports. They don’t need to pay outrageous fees to third parties.”

Any Idaho business that has lost money to a business compliance company can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office at ag.idaho.gov.