Business Owners: Don’t be fooled by official-looking solicitations

California business owners have recently been plagued by phony  notices suggesting that they're in danger of losing their corporate status, or being subjected to fines.  These official-looking notices from organizations with names like “corporate compliance center” request a fee and completion of a form to ensure the company's continued compliance with California Law.   

At best, these ‘notices' are actually just cleverly disguised solicitations by companies that offer the service of filing the company's Statement of Information.    According to the Secretary of State's Alert about this situation, many of these notices contain arbitrary due-dates, and look verty similar to the real Statement of Information form.  Often, the file-number on the document is differnt from the company's actual file number.  It's easy to compare your file number, and the Secretary of State reminds that Statements of Information are always due on the last day of the month of formation.

If you're a California corporation or LLC, and have received a form or ‘notice' that you're not sure about, please contact me before you send any money.  I'll help you figure out whether it's an official notice or one of these scams. 

The Secretary of State recommends that those who receive these solicitations, and those who've been victimized by the scams contact the office of the California Attorney General at PO Box 944255, Sacramento, CA 94244-2550