The West Hartford Police Department shared the following press release from the Secretary of State and Attorney General, warning Connecticut businesses about a scam involving required business annual reports.
Submitted
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill and Attorney General George Jepsen are warning businesses across Connecticut about a mailing being sent by “Workplace Compliance Services” purporting to be an official “Annual Report Instruction Form,” alleging that payment is required by Connecticut law.
A copy of the form follows this announcement.
“Businesses registered with the state of Connecticut are only required by law to file Annual Reports with our office,” said Merrill, Connecticut’s chief business registrar. “There is no legal requirement for any business to file the form they received from Workplace Compliance Services, or to pay the inflated fee indicated.”
“This scam targets small businesses and, unfortunately, resurfaces every few years in an attempt to cheat hardworking business owners,” said Jepsen. “Scams like this one try to appear legitimate, but business owners shouldn’t fall for it. Tell your employees to be on the lookout, and whenever in doubt about a suspicious mailing, call the Secretary of State or my office to verify legitimacy before sending any payment.”
This deceptive solicitation has an “official” appearance and references a Connecticut state law. This scam directs the recipient business to send an inflated fee for filing an Annual Report that can be filed directly with the state at ct.gov/annualreport.
Merrill said, “If you are ever unsure about the legitimacy of a business filing notice you receive, please contact my office at 860-509-6003 or email us at [email protected]. We are ready and eager to help any Connecticut business owner.”
If your business has received the bogus “Annual Report Instruction Form” form, please make a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General at [email protected], including a copy of the mailing, as an investigation into the mailing in coordination with the U.S. Postal Inspector is underway.
On Jan. 2, the West Hartford Police Department has investigated one similar complaint. That case is open and ongoing.
Courtesy of West Hartford Police Department
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Thank you we-ha.com. This letter, which looks very official and much like other state correspondence, was on my desk to review today. I so appreciate the heads up and now it’s in the garbage!
So glad you saw the post in advance! ~Ronni