Milwaukee, Wis. – The CTA is real, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is real; however, this letter is not. Scammers have long impersonated government officials; this time, they’re using a new act to confuse business owners into giving up their information.
How the scam works
You receive a letter in the mail that looks very official. It claims to come from the United States Business Regulations Department, Corporate Transparency Act Division, Process and Filing Center. It’s addressed to the business and has a notice ID number. Scammers combine personal information collected from data breaches with official-looking seals and watermarks to make the correspondence seem legitimate.
The letter informs you that you have “reporting obligations under the Corporate Transparency Act” and must report ownership information to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The letter asks you to visit a website or scan a QR code to report your information.
If you receive this letter, report it to BBB Scam Tracker and disregard it.
How to avoid government impostor scams
- Verify correspondence with government agencies. If you receive a piece of mail or a call that seems suspicious, take a step back and ensure it’s legitimate before taking action. Call the government office directly, using the official phone number, to verify the communications are real.
- Don’t engage with scammers. As soon as you know you are dealing with a scammer, cease communication. Stop answering calls, letters, or emails, and block any numbers that have called you about the scam.
- Report government impostor scams to the FBI. Help the Federal Bureau of Investigation catch scammers by reporting your experience to ic3.gov.
For more information
Learn more about government impostor scams.
See BBB’s scams HQ for more alerts and tips to protect yourself and your loved ones.
Check out 10 steps to avoid scams.
FinCEN Small Business Compliance Guide
View the online version
For more information or further inquiries, contact the Wisconsin BBB at www.bbb.org/wisconsin, 414-847-6000 or 1-800-273-1002. Consumers also can find more information about how to protect themselves from scams by following the Wisconsin BBB on Facebook, Twitter, Inst
ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2021, people turned to BBB more than 200 million times for BBB Business Profiles on 6.3 million businesses and Charity Reports on 25,000 charities, all available for free at BBB.org. There are local, independent BBBs across the United States, Canada and Mexico, including BBB Serving Wisconsin which was founded in 1939 and serves the state of Wisconsin.
