I am appalled by the marketing tactics used by the Business Filings Division. They disguise themselves as a government entity asking for some $239.00 for a statement of information renewal. To put this into perspective our company AAA Corporate Filing Services http://www.aaafiling.com charges $45.00 for LLC SOI renewal and $50.00 for a corporation’s SOI renewal…. Everyone please be careful.

What tipped me off: the back of the envelope to use when paying says “Enclose check or money order payable to: BFD”. It was the “big f***ing deal” that made me say “hey!!! wait a minute” and look online for scam information.

Oh my Lord!
I’m so glad I decided to follow my gut on this one and check! I have received two of these letters so far, and they seemed fishy to me so I was holding out. I’m so glad I found this post, because had not found it, I would be out $239!
Is this S%$@t legal!!

OH MY this is so NOT ok!!! Stopping payment on my check now!! WOW

Thanks, something just did not seem right to me, so I decided to check online and “Wala”. I would love to send them an envelope with a Big F***ing Deal in it. Thanks again for the assist.

I have received two of these already. I contacted the Secretary of State to find out if all my papers were filed, which they were. When I told them about the document I had received, they were unaware of it and had me forward it to the Attorney General to investigate. Sure enough it was a fraud.
It disgusts me to know that there are business’s out there purposely ripping people off. I suggest that if you have received any suspicious documents asking you to file and pay fees, to contact the Attorney General, State of California, Department of Justice (800) 735-2933 and let them know what you have received. The more people that file complaints, the more they will take action to crack down on these business’s.
Good Luck!

These jerk off almost got me too! What got me was the Stamp! The previous Government replies I recieved had Register to vote on them and they did not have stamps. The Feds dont stamp letters. They messed up because they send me two and I was like WTF is this. The documents could pass but I noticed some flaws in them that showed me. I tried to call the SEC of state but the number was busy so I googled it and fount this sight. Here I was rushing to gather the money before the date and Im sure glad Im not your average dumbass or I’d be shit out of luck The nerve of some people

Thanks for posting this! You just saved me $239! You the man.

Got two of these myself. One for Annual Filing Division, the other for Business FIling Division. Its a covincing scam. I bet the hit ratio is pretty high

These a__holes are too dumb! I pegged them for a scam from the postage and when they ask for a check made payable to BFD. Also I detected a mispelling of the word “you” when they meant ‘YOUR.”

Just for fun, I copied reports of this scam and returned it to them in THEIR ENVELOPE with no stamp. Now they’ll have to pay for that too!

Wow! I just got my first letter in the mail. What is very interesting to me is that I was doing my filing online. The next day I received theletter. I looked for a number to call to let them know that they must had made an error. I wasthinking that they were trying to charge me more then what was required.
Ieally want to thank everyone for sharing. As it is saidby our lare president Reagan… Trust but Verify. I will live to this rule for now on!

I just got this mail this morning!! oh my god, i can’t believe it!! What in the world people try to lie about everything!!!
Thank god i called my filing agent to make sure!!!

thanks for the info!!

WE — need to do something about the BFD A-Holes.
Does anyone know how to stop these guys? We know they are making lots of money from innocent people. BTW, my 1st letter from them was requesting a payment for $195.00 due by 9/18/2009. The next bill was for $239.00 due by 9/30/2009.
ALERT********** How much other info did they get on us from the State Secretary’s Office**********?

I can’t believe this either. I never question things like this, but after writing the check, I decided to google it to see what was going on - thank you for posting this up! You saved me $239 dollars.

I recommend that everyone make copies of $20.00 bills and send them back in the envelope they provided. Send extra sets and get them opening all these letters with their greedy little hands. These bastards [I am sure none of them had fathers] need to be put down like a sick dog. I am extremely angry! I filed a formal complaint at your suggestion. I would think that they need to provide a service for the money that they receive. Seems they could be prosecuted for something. Thanks for your help on this.

I got the same thing in the mail, but a month ago I got a NOTICE OF DELINQUENCY from the Secretary of State Business Program Division on blue paper stating about the same thing. The notice listed a web site https://businessfilings.sos.ca.gov/. I was very suspicious, but everything did look official (web site, stationery, etc), so I did submit the statement of information online and was charged $25. Has anybody else received such a Notice of Delinquency or can verify that it’s not a scam?

Thanks for the information everyone, I got my letter in the mail today! It seems they have lowered their price from the $239.00 to $235.00, what luck huh! Thanks for your posts!!!

I bit, and was had, but fortunately wrote the check to “State of California, Secretary of State.” BFD still sent it to BOA, which sent it to my bank, which took the money from my account, but then agreed to put it back when I pointed out that the check was written to “State of California, Secretary of State,” and fraudulently submitted by BFD. More luck than brains, I am sure.

I got the same letter in mail also asking for $235
These f@*k up people are so crazy. I get really mad when i see this kinda mail.

I would sugest all you guys send this people this mail with no stamp and as for addresee to pay the fees, send them with expesive mail with all the insurance.

I was looking for a phone number on this form and couldn’t fine one. So I searched the web and found this article, it’s just a scam. We’re a dental office and it states every doesstic stock and agricultural cooperative corporation should file a statement of information. So I just wanted to call the Business Filing Office and inform them that we are a dental practice!

Nate, thanks so much for posting this and for including scanned copies of the mail in question. I received one of these today and am so glad I ran across your article, validating my suspicions that something wasn’t right.

You’ve done a good deed.

Hi
Thanks everyone I just got the same letters and I also was looking for a phone number but couldn’t find one so I start google to check on this and find your comments so thanks for your information and for all the articles

This was very suspicious to me when it was addressed to our company name and then it said “which will do business in california as …”. I’m with Bob, I think we should mail them copies of $20 bills. I hope businesses will scrutinize their bills a little closer and not send any money to the BFD people!

I received the notice with short time to remit. I started looking real close and came to the same conclusions, lack of phone, email, but the clincher was “Not a government document”! I am sending them a copy of the scam report, and am reporting it to the fraud division of the state attorney generals office. My suggestion is NOT to photocopy any money-it is a federal offense. Thanks for the posting and confiming my doubts.

So, Funny thing was, I received 3 of these so far, all from different addresses and names. I had actually previously written a check to one of them titled “Annual Filing Division” at the following address:

1215 K Street, 17th Floor, sacramento, CA 95814

After the 3rd one came today, I decided to look it up because there’s no way I’d have to pay all these fees all the time….yup….i guess I got scammed on the first one. =/….was going to try and stop payment on that check but it looks like it was cashed 3 days ago. Anyone know if there’s a way to stop payment once it’s been cashed?

Hey Jon, Frank Coats above was able to do it. You might try his approach.

Yeah, unfortunately I actually wrote the check out to “Annual Filing Division”. Just called my bank to see if they can file a claim for this, but I guess since I wrote the check and signed it to them, there’s nothing really more I can do at this point. At least that’s what the bank just told me right now…

Guess I was had too. =/…I’ll call the secretary of state tomorrow to see if everything was filed at least…guess I paid more than I should have…hopefully paperwork was filed.

Thanks. Yeah, i’m about to call the number given on the form and request a refund of the amount and see what happens. Called the Secretary of State already and nothing was filed although the paper says the following:

“In submitting this form, you give Authorization to Annual Filing Division to file your statement of information on your behalf.”

Since I called and nothing has been filed, I want to see if I can play on that and get a refund.

For others’ reference, if people are looking for a phone number for the Annual Filing Division (in case your letter did not have contact info), the number and info on my letter is as follows:

Annual Filing Division
1215 K Street, 17th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-779-4147

I believe their phone number is registered in Rancho Cordova when I looked it up, but they answer the phone and everything as “Annual Filing Division”, so maybe it’s a real phone number.

Ok, just called and requested a refund for this amount. From what the person told me, I need to send a written letter to the address above with the following:

- Corporation/LLC number
- Corporation/LLC name
- Request to Cancel the check
- Check Number
- Bank of this check

If it was recent, you MAY be able to get a refund as long as nothing has been done.

I’m going to send out this letter today and see what happens. I’ve been told it takes about 10 days or so, so we’ll see if I can get that refund or not. Hopefully this information helps others who made the unfortunate mistake as I did to send them money. =/

I just received this “bill” for Statement of Information Officers List- just a version of the one you posted above. I knew it was a scam b/c there was no phone number to call and question or website to review charges and where the funds go- all Gov agencies have to have this I think. Anyway- why isn’t the CA government shutting them down??Or, at least putting out an alert about it? They alerted people to the false companies asking for money to have the government review their home values for taxes….

By the way, funny they make you fill out the check to: BFD (Big Effing Deal) right?

i want to slit their throats.

Nice blog! Glad I didn’t fall for this one, due to the red flags that you have stated. Plus, Government mail usually doesn’t come with stamps and comes Presorted and says “Penalty for Private Use - $300″ The Government doesn’t have to put stamps on their mail since its their mailing system!

To everyone, there are a lot of bogus people trying to pass themselves off as the State. Always check the mailing address online. Everything you need is on government websites. You can’t fake a .gov

I received the same form in the mail and thought it was curious because we had already done our Statement of Information, for the 25.00. I was glad when I googled the name and found all the links about the scam, although I had already picked up on the typo and the “this offer is not being made by an agency of the government”
My question is who can I report this to?

I got this too, but first thing I checked is the California site, thinking I was late for filing. Thats when I found out I wasn’t. One good thing came out of this though, now I know when I am due for filing :). These scammers need to be prosecuted somehow. For some reason the Secretary of State is also not doing anything about this, since this is the third time I am getting such letters.

Got my letter today, and suspected a scam. Googled, and found several links discussing this specific letter. One blog directed victims to http://www.sos.ca.gov (Secty of State’s website), and which I checked it out, I found this warning:

“If you have received a solicitation letter that seems misleading or confusing, please contact the California Attorney General’s office at the California Department of Justice, Public Inquiry Unit, P.O. Box 944255, Sacramento, California 94244-2550 or through the California Attorney General’s website at http://www.ag.ca.gov/consumers/general.php. The telephone number for the Public Inquiry Unit is (800) 952-5225 (toll free in California) or (916) 322-3360.”

The state seal is not a CA state seal. That was my first clue. I bet these a-holes make a lot of money from this though. They should be shot.

I am SO glad I googled this and found your blog! I couldn’t understand what this was at first because it didn’t match with any of the official documents that we have in our file. Another tip: if you have a trademark name, watch out for all the scam companies trying to “protect” it for you!

Wow, I wish I would have googled this a week ago! I got the notice and stupidly wrote the check to Annual Filing Division for $195.00! A Red flag went up today when I received a notice from “BFD” telling me I owed $235.00 and that it is due next week.
Thanks to “Jon” for the contact information of Annual Filing Division, I SHOULD be receiving a refund in 10 business days.

I received a letter from Business Filings Division yesterday called Statement of Information Officers List. I checked the web and found it was a scam so I sent them note saying “FU Assh***’s I hope you die in hell”.
I also called the property management company at the address listed, 980 Ninth Street 16FL Sacramento, CA, and was told there wasn’t a tenant by that name in the building. They seemed to know all about the scam but when I asked how the company could get mail if they weren’t in the building I was told to send them a letter and find out, then she hung up on me. The management company is CB Richard Ellis and the contact is below. Give them a call and ask why they allow known scam artists to operate in their building.

Amanda Gourley
980 9th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
T 916.557.1800
F 916.557.1810

You guys do some nice web design!

Thanks Mark!

For once it pays to procrastinate! I have received two pieces of mail in the last couple of months, one for filing business minutes with a $125 fee attached to it and the Business Filings form with a $239 fee. I called Legal Zoom to get some information and they are both scams. LLC’s don’t have to file minutes, only corporations. This is terrible! I was told we will only receive legit mail from the IRS, the California Franchise Board or the Secretary of State. Their website also has useful information about this very thing.

You guys are great for posting info on this stuff! Good luck to all who fell for this absurd and heinous scam I hope you get refunded. I was about to drive downtown, as I live in Sac, to take care of this and the “red flags” began waving as I read it more closely. Deciding to google the organization in question these blog postings came up.
The late notice is in the shredder!!!!

Got ours today. 2nd time. First one I found a number to call I believe in the Los Angeles area.
After a little research I called and a lady answered I told her this was a scam, she became very defensive. She said they were an outside agency trying to protect business owners. Yea right. Couldnt take anymore of her so hung up.
Anyways todays doc. has a phone # on bottom right corner of front page if anyone would like to call them. (916) 903-5355 Sacramento

holy s***, I almost got burned. I was about to write the check today. thank you google and the author of this post.

Thank you, Nate, for putting this blog together, and many thanks also to everyone who commented.

We, too, received one of these letters this week (asking for payment of $235 to “Business Filings Division”)

This was certainly misleading, but I knew that something was wrong because we’re a nonprofit, and I know our annual filing fe is only $25. Then again, perhaps everyone’s fee is only $25. That, and I happen to know that our filing deadline isn’t for another month.

I imagined that we’d fallen into another business category accidentally, pushing our amount and due date in undesirable directions, so I wanted to call someone at SOS to sort it out… but no number was provided. That’s when I googled “Secretary of state california business filings division” and came up with this blog. THANK YOU.

I’m sure I would have found the answer eventually, but this saved me a fair amount of time, both looking, and on hold with SOS . . . and I’m sure that you’ve saved a number of other people as well. Good on ya, mate!

For what it’s worth, this seems to be a “legitimate” service: they get your information and then do the filing for you. That’s why the deadline is a month ahead of the real Secretary of State deadline. Very similar to the “Trademark Office” scams for those of you who have filed trademark applications. Don’t get me wrong - I’m not condoning this business, and think that they are being intentionally misleading. Hoewever, keep in mind that they *are* performing a “service.” At least that’s the excuse.

These people should be arrested for sending false
documents. I am so glade I checked on this site to vaify it was legitament or not. We are a non profit orginazation with 3 orphanages in Mexico. Same on them.

This is the 2nd time I’ve received this notice from the BFD… and, I’m happy to report, the 2nd time I realized it was a scam (since the 1st notice was sent so long ago). I contacted the state about this and they said that the company legally has the right to do what they’re doing. They’ve created this form just carefully enough where they’re not technically doing anything illegal. But… I agree with the others who say they should be arrested for fraud since they are attempting to pose as a legitimate agent of the state. Well done to all those who double-checked on this. Let’s keep the word out to our fellow business owner friends that this organization is trouble!

Since the state of California is apparently powerless to act against the fraudulent, deceptive activity from whomever or whatever entity that is generating these fake notices, why don’t all of us who’ve been contacted, or duped into paying, file a class action lawsuit to get these bastards to refund any money they’ve collected and put them in jail!

Everyone who unwittingly has sent a check to these jerks should take a look at the back of their cleared check when it comes in their statement. There should be a stamp identifying where the check was deposited and processed. Then, contact the bank that is clearing these checks and file a complaint with them.

Thank you! You have save me a BUNCH of time and money. Thanks for your help!

Happy to see that the state of California is doing a swell of job protecting small businesses.

Yes I have been recieving this notices for a few years, how is it possible they have not been busted yet? Notice there is not one phone number on this form, this is a big indicateion this is a fake.

Thank you for posting this. after googleing the information, I had to give the letter I received a second look and found it matched the same letter you posted. What I don’t understand is how they got so many business contacts. I hope this wasn’t too damaging to everyone who got caught in the scam.

I tore up the letter initially, then wondered if I was wrong. I’m glad to see this web site. Why have these people not been shut down? Is there any agency that can run them out of town? It’s a horrible scam

Add me to the list of “almost victims”. I don’t know if it will do any good, but I filed a complaint with the State Atty General. Here is the link if anyone else wants to do the same:
http://ag.ca.gov/contact/complaint_form.php?cmplt=CL

Maybe if enough people complain it will get on the AG’s radar.

All the same, these guys are complete scumbags that should rot in hell.

from the BBB / Rated F see: http://www.bbb.org/northeast-california/business-reviews/business-related-services/business-filings-division-in-sacramento-ca-47018000

Name: Business Filings Division
Phone: (916) 913-5355
Address: 980 9th St Fl 16

Sacramento, CA 95814-2736
File Open Date: June 2009
Type of Business: Business Related Services
BBB Accreditation: Business Filings Division is not a BBB Accredited business.

Thank you for posting this on your blog. I just got something in the mail asking for $235 and did a search…turns out it is a load of crap. I appreciate you taking time to let people know.

Thanks!

Everyone, Thank you for posting your blog. I was sitting down about to write the check thinking the state is just getting out of control. My gut instinct was to get online and check this out and sure enough it’s a scam. Well I’m going to send them a fake check with some interesting information on it.

Thanks Again!
Ken

I received 2 of these today on my subsidiary companies. We have already filed these forms with the state. The second thing I noticed was the ridiculous fee. I carefully read through the form until I got down to the bottom where it stated all in caps “THIS PRODUCT OR SERVICE HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED OR ENDORSED BY ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCY, AND THIS OFFER IS NOT BEING MADE BY AN AGENCY OF THE GOVERNMENT.” That’s when I knew it was a scam and started looking to see if someone had actually fallen for it. On the website for the CA Secretary of State, it has an alert about this type of solicitation and refers you to the Attorney Generals Office. It lists bothe the phone number and website for their Public Inquiry Unit. Apparently they are overloaded with calls on this subject and referred you to their web page if you wanted to file a complaint. I filled out the online complaint form that you can find at:

http://ag.ca.gov/contact/complaint_form.php?cmplt=CL

Since this was unsolicited mail and potentially mail fraud, I also went to the USPS website and was referred to the UPS Inspection Service where you can file a complaint as well.

It states:

Although the Postal Inspection Service cannot resolve routine business disputes between companies and their customers, it can act against a company or individual if there is a pattern of activity suggesting a potential scheme to defraud.

I think that fits the bill here, so I also filed a complaint with them. You can access the complaint forma at:

https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/MailFraudComplaint.aspx

Guys,

I think if both the Attorney General’s Office and the USPS get enough complaints about these people ffrom businesse, one or both of them will have to act against them. I’m leaning more towards the USPS because they are tough on what you can and cannot send through the mail.

Let’s see if we can get them shut down before they milk more businesses.

[...] Fryewiles.com 16th floor, 980 ninth street, business filings, business filings division, california state seal, fraud alert, live person, official document, sacramento address, scam, ShitList, statement of information [...]

There must be some way to prosecute these crooks.
Their letter does say it is not a government agency, which they hope will make them not subject to legal action, but it is very very clear that the whole tenor of the letter is an attempt to deceive people into believing that they are legitimate.

It would be truly a case of ignoring the evidence if they can get off the hook by the semi-hidden statement that they are not a real government agency. Let’s be real about this: Every other part of the letter is clearly aimed to fool you.
They are crooks and should go to jail.

I almost fell for this too but I found more information, the Sacramento 16th floor address belongs to Regus, a company that provides “virtual” offices, I think that’s how they are doing it.

Someone call Regus tomorrow and find out:

http://www.regus.com/locations/US/CA/Sacramento/CaliforniaSacramento9thStreet.htm

Maybe they can forward all the mail to the police or something.

This is the 2nd time I got this bullshit mail. I knew right away it was fraud, cause of my experience the 1st time. I almost fell into the trap the 1st time, but I called Sacramento and found out thru their offices that is was a scam. I can’t believe that these scam artists are still scamming people!

Holy shit, I almost fell for this one–especially because it came on the heels of the real Statement of Information I had just sent in (e.g., I thought I had missed the deadline and was being sent another, higher-fee notice).

This definitely crosses the line from asking you to sign up for an official-sounding directory into straight-up scam territory. These bastards should be in jail. Thank you SO MUCH, Nate, for posting this warning.

I just called the phone # on the form (which is how I found this site) and got an actual person on the line. I asked why I had to pay them. The person replied that I didn’t–only if I wished to “use their services” (or words to that effect). I told him that the jig is up, that I’m going to spread the word about their scam, and that I hope he has fun breaking rocks in Sing-Sing.

Anyway, got to go spread the word. Thanks again!

go to http://www.ag.ca.gov and download a PIU form. This is a business complaint form. Fill it out and send to sacramento.

I got one too and almost wrote a check. so ridiculous.

HQ GLOBAL WORKPLACES is the company that leases the 16th floor. They then sub-lease to other tenants,including BFD, all the while in a fully legal agreement with the building management under contract, CB RICHARD ELLIS.
I think I will now try to ascertain who CB RICHARD ELLIS is under contract WITH….as in Who owns the building and perhaps has no idea this is happening.
HQ phone is 916-449-9900
BFD phone 916-913-5355
CB RICHARD ELLIS on site 916-557-1800

P.S. It would be nice if the latest post appeared at the top of this blog. Just my 2$(inflation).

Lets put pressure on the owners of the building.

Happy to have found your post! They did a great job of making this look legit, but a couple things made this a little fishy.
I almost tossed the letter immediately because it had one of those ‘Presorted Standard’ stamps on it that comes with most junk mail, but since it had the word ‘business’ on the front two times, I figured I better at least look at it. The ‘This is not a government document’ comment on it also made me suspect scam.
Your post saved me a lot of time in determining whether or not this was a scam. Thank you!

Tempted to send the notice back to them with a note for them to shove it up their ass, but then I’d be out a stamp. Instead, I’ll take Lisa’s route and file a complaint.

I just received my second letter. The 1st was nearly a year ago. The address not the same it was somewhere in Southern Cal, I don’t remember where. When I received the 1st letter I caller the Secretary of States office, and they didn’t seem surprised at all, they told me to write the agency in Southern Cal and inform them that I had just paid the fees for this and that I wouldn’t be sending them any money. Thank you Lisa I will get a copy of this form and file it.

Just got three of these letters to each of my LLCs. Well written and no grammatical or spelling mistakes. Anyway, I filed an on-line complaint with the California Attorney General’s Office and also the United States Postal Service (for mail fraud). If more people complain, then maybe the government offices will take action and put these losers out of business.

I thought something was wrong immediately because we are a foreign corporation and do not remit to the Domestic Business Filings Unit. Thank you for posting this!

Well, I sat down to fill this out and was thinking … wait a second, this isn’t due for a while… These mother effers. I had actually started filling it out too. But when I saw the payment amount I knew something was up. I looked at the whole thing and no phone number… red flag no.2.. did a google search and found this site. Can’t believe I even started filling this p.o.s. out… it looks so similar to my yearly state filing.

Can anyone advise on what would be considered “reasonable cause” in justifying the corporations failure to file the SI in the alotted time? I am trying to avoid this extra $250 late filing penalty… thanks in advance! - Jay

CREEPY, CREEPY, CREEPY!!!!!
Thank you for maintaining this post!!!
What jerks!!!!!

Just about to mail a check in - glad I decided to google this, I was going to call them since there is no phone # provided on the invoice - gee, I wonder why??

These scammers almost got me. I mailed them 2 checks last week for 2 LLC’s I own. Today I received two more of these forms for two corporations that I own, started to fill them out so I would not be late and sent copies over to my accountant and asked him why the fee’s had increased so much ? He said this was a scam. I immediatly hung up and called my bank and the checks had not been cashed so guess what, stop payments were applied !!! I wrote scammers accross the front along with some other choice wording and mailed them back to “BFD” of course without postage so they get to pay !!! This is really bad, people like this should be locked up and fed dog crap !!. This is really horrible and the saying goes what goes around comes around and they will be punished sometime in their lifetime.

I can’t thank you enough for this post and the links. I received one today. It looked totally legit and I thought, “Oh CA and their budget problems must have caused them to up the fees for an LLC.” Then I went to my file and saw a pattern of paying in March of each year, not October. I Googled the form and up popped your wonderful post. Thanks so much!

Yep, just got one of these too. I have seen similar solicitations, but it’s been a while. You have to read the whole thing carefully. When you get to the part that says THIS PRODUCT OR SERVICE HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED OR ENDORSED BY ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCY, AND THIS OFFER IS NOT BEING MADE BY AN AGENCY OF THE GOVERNMENT - that’s when you say, ok, I don’t have to do anything with this. But it got me thinking … wonder if anyone else has seen these … and voila! I guess lots of people have! But, I wonder how many poor innocents have fallen prey and just sent in a payment?

Someone in Sacramento should pay these guys a visit. With a molotov cocktail…

Clearly an attempt to deceive the general public and small business owner. Having received this same notice earlier this year, I do not understand why they are still in business. Here is a good example of our state and federal government dollars hard at work.

I am completely sick of knob heads with their hands in my pocket and I am ready to “give it” to those who want something for nothing.

~my first post online

I just received this letter today. It looked pretty legitimate that I had to question whether our Statement of Information had been filed. So I was googling to look up the CA Statement of Information File number and that is when I saw that this was a scam.
THANK YOU! You just saved me $239 and a phone call and I do plan to report this to the Attorney General. Thank you for the blog.

I just got this letter today as well and my first thought was it was a scam. I knew I only paid a yearly fee and this was not it. My wife googled it and found your website stating it was a scam.
One thing you should do is SEND BACK THE SELF ADDRESSED ENVELOPE EMPTY or if you wish to send them a nasty note, so they can pay for the postage. That’s my suggestion and that’s what I’m doing.
Thanks for verifying the information. Glad to know the honest people are watching over us.

I submitted complaints to CA Dept of Justice and BBB. Note: copying money, even if you don’t copy both sides, can be illegal and cause you some problems. How about making a bad drawing of fake money and sending it to them? Maybe a face with a tongue sticking out of it!!

If you received your scam notice via U.S. Mail, please also file a Mail Fraud Report with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service: https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/MailFraudComplaint.aspx

Thanks a million for the original post and all the comments. Have filed complaints with USPS and Calif. Att. General - thanks for all contact info. Thanks also for the management company info who is letting these scam artists receive mail at their building! My envelope required postage - if YOUR envelope does not require postage, please consider stuffing it as full as possible to increase the postage fee to these swindlers.

Hey, I just got one of these in the mail, googled Business Filings Division, and your blog came up. You saved me a lot of hassle and worry by verifying that this is in fact a fraudulent claim. Thanks a lot, my friend!

I got the same letter telling me that I need to pay them $239 by October 15th. I called them at (916) 903-5355, and told them that I have already paid for Statement of Information in December for $20. I asked her to verify to ensure that they have received it. At that time, their agent told me that I need to contact Secretary of State (SOS) and gave me the phone number. I immediately thought this is hoax. Called SOS and I was told that many business owners have complaint about Business Filing Division company, and apparently they are legal actions against them too. I posted scam warning for CA business owners on Facebook as well.

Thank you posting this. I nearly fell for this scam. It certainly is a very official looking letter with an address in Sacramento. Can I make an official complaint somewhere about this scam?

I figured this was a scam, but certainly one of the more sneaky ones.

I am so glad my gut instinct told me to look further into this as most of you have. I received the same letter for Remit Immediately! $235 for my Owner’s Association Statement of Information Officers List. First of all, I have been President of our HOA for quite some time and didn’t recall receiving this notice in the past years from them and certainly not in this amount. This is going straight to the recycyling bin!

The biggest giveaway to me was THIS PRODUCT OR SERVICE HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED OR ENDORSED BY ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCY…that gave them away!

How can these Scammers be stopped????

http://ag.ca.gov/contact/complaint_form.php?cmplt=CL

REPORT THESE GUYS! Sic Jerry Brown on them….

Thanks for posting and
I read, didnot see any phone #.
when i reread the signature section, and researched online and this BLOG was the first on the list

Thanks and it saved $239 for our company

The BBB emailed me. They are doing a big press release on BFD and are going to have the media contact me and others for input. Complaining to the right folks actually works sometimes. Let’s here it for the BBB!

I am glad my letter had an outrageous remit payment amount. Since the recession hit I have to watch every penny. Normally, I wouldn’t take the time to scrutinize, but now I check more deligently. It almost got me becasue I figured California was trying everything to increase income. But going from $25 to $235 was a little much. I feel like grabbing my shotgun and driving to this Sacto address for opening day with these creeps.

Wow - I am so glad that I stopped to read the fine print before mailing my check. The letter seemed a little too abrasive even for a government agency so I Googled the company. Thanks for the heads’ up!

I’ve just received one of these bogus letters, what tipped me off was the amount and the fact that it says right on it :Product or Service has not been Aproved or Endorsed by a Government Agency. Clearly a SCAM. These people should be closed down and in jail for fraud and stealing from any Entity they have already collected from. Not to mention even the BBB gave them an “F”.

Our clients have been receiving these notices for years. The fraudulent company used to be in Los Angeles, but they probably figured that they would seem more “legit” if they obtained a Sacramento address. I’ve reported them several times to both the Secretary of State’s office and the Attorney General’s office; I recommend each of you do the same. The more complaints they get, the more chance that the A/G will actually pursue these scam artists. Help put them out of business, if not in jail.

Nate,

Thank you thank you thank you. Received this form today and realized something was up. Total and complete scam. Thank God I didn’t send these bastards a check. Also followed up immediately and filed complaints with the State Attorney General, The US Mail Inspection Service and the BBB.

The fact that small business owners are being gouged in this economy is INTOLERABLE.

Jason

I got my letter from the a**holes today. These fools must trick a lot of people, because they get enough to send these letters bulkmail. Somebody,k please stop falling for the hype!!!

I just got two in the mail today! I was in the state of panic because they are due in a few days. Thank you so much for this website. I thought the letters looked suspicious. Also, do you know if the the Annual Review board is legit or are they are scam also. I have paid them twice now and just recently I received a filled, endorsed statement of information from filled with the secretary of state. I don’t understand did I need to file again? This is their address 333 S. Grand ave 25th Fl, Los Angeles, CA, 90071

BTW the fee is now $250!
Yep, I Googled ASAP ‘cuzz it seems fishy with the mass mailing stamp on the env….thanks for blogging, confirmed my suspicions!

Total complete SCAM. I contacted our Senator and because the wording is such, this is legal.
Send to all friends a warning.

Wow, I just sent in a check to these guys, got another one in the mail asking for a different amount so I decided to search online about it- SO glad I saw this. Just cancelled the check and my account…AGHHHHH!

thanks you SO much for posting this!! i just got the exact same form in the mail today for my nonprofit corp. and was totally confused - especially because the “refiling” was going to cost $235?? what a crazy scam!

This # was on the bottom right corner of the notice: (916) 903-5355. I just called today BFD to remove my business name from their mailing list. The rep I talked to was “Kelly.” Maybe we should all keep calling them and harrass the heck out of them!

I got mine!
I just sent it back to them in their envelope with no postage. You will not find any phone number on the letter….that is a big give away that it is NOT government issue!!

I promptly wrote a letter to the Secretary of State and enclosed a copy of Business Filings Division’s form. I asked the S of S to issue a cease a desist order for deceptive trade practices and misrepresentation of a government enitity. Anyone who receives one of these solicitions should do the same. With enough correspondence the state should act.

California attorney general’s office has apparently taken action. See article in the L.A. Times — Business Section dd Oct 09, ‘09. “State accuses 8 in L.A. area of scams targeting small firms”.

I almost sent this off. I just didn’t have the money right now. I also thought that when I filied for my LLC. they company hat helped me told me that there was a fee every two years for updating. It’s not even been a year yet I have it scheduled in my outlook reminders for around January 2011. There is a phone number but all you get is options on the phone playing phone tag. I wish to warn everyone to read the paperwork you receive. If you already have an LLC or Corporation all of that information is already filed with the state and are not going to ask you for the same information again. They are going to ask if there has been any changes.

Hey has anyone thought about reporting them to the FTC because I got taken with Transnet Wireless and the FTC went in and shut them down. I lost a lot of money with that one along with thousands others.

I’m curious to know if any of you have an SBA loan ?

The reason I ask is because to the best of my knowledge, those are the only records that have the name of our LLC and my home address to which the letter was sent.

I also received one of these letters 2 days ago. Unfortunately, I called the Secretary of State 1st, and Googled 2nd. Needless to say, I spent many hours on the phone to find out that this was a very well orchestrated scam.

Ed, we do not have an SBA loan, so I don’t think that’s it.

My office just got the same thing…we had to get our accountant involved…it looks incredibly official but if you look at the bottom in caplock font…it says “This product or service has not been approved or endorsed by any government agency, and this offer is not being made by an agency of the government”. Unfortunately, most people aren’t going to read this and go ahead and pay these idiots. Thanks for the heads up!!! Kimberly

Thanks Rob, that’s good news in this frustrating, yet interesting saga.

As I mentioned earlier, there is only a single instance that I know of that has my home address and the name of our LLC. Based on your response, it is now narrowed down to only our bank that processed it. The California Secretary of State does not, and has never had my home address.

These guys are hacking someones files. In our particular case, maybe I can narrow it down and at least possibly plug that one hole.

Either way, I’m just glad I didn’t send off $239.00, and I hope others find this info before they make that costly mistake.

Wow! I just received this scam Business Filing as well. This is unbelieveable. I am so busy that I did not notice some of the red flags and was going to pay, until I recalled that I thought we just paid our $20 filing a month or so ago. I checked and we had and it has been cashed. How can we bring these scam artists down. Report them to the Attorney General office - Fraud Division?? I cannot find Megan’s info to learn how to report them. Can someone point me to the place to report these people to the authorities.

San Diego filed a lawsuit against these people. http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/oct/09/small-businesses-were-scam-targets-state-says/?metro&zIndex=179965

this is a scam - there is no seal of The State of California and the amount is ridiculous $235 dated 10/15/09 - and today is 10/10/09!

Unfortunately my assistant sent off the check and it was deposited yesterday. Called the bank to do a stop payment but too late (they may try to get it back). Called the AG’s office and as the article says, the lawsuits are ongoing but they are not sure that any money will be returned. Advised to send a written complaint with copies of the check and the paper that was received. They need any documents that will make this case better so send off any docs you have. may they rot in jail…

I have rec’d the same bill for $195.00 from annual business div., called the sec. of state-CA, they are aware of it as it is a fraud mail
DO NOT PAY****
call CA sec, office at 916-657-5448 and report this to the section of CA-fraud …

This is the second letter I got in one month the last one wanted $239.00 and this one $195.00
Both of us were going to write out a check but I decided to call my accountant and when told him I received this he said tear it up and throw it away.
I am so glad I called him.
I googled the address at the bottom and it comes up as KDS Communications.

Am I glad I found your blog! I just dropped LegalZoom after their persistent attempts to renew as agent, and within a week I have two notices: one from “Business Filings Division, 980 Ninth St” and another from “Annual Filing Division, 1215 K Street”, asking for $239.00 and $195 respectively.

I noticed the This is not a governmental agency item written on the envalope. Government forms don’t use in Bold ! and
Remit Imediately! and
No phone number.

I almost fell victim to this scam. They sent 2 letters with different letterhead seals. I decided to google and found this site. thx much!

I’m so glad I found this blog. Wow, I wrote the check already for $195.00 and it was mailed out today but I just called the bank to stop the check. Many Many thanks,

Kudos to you Nate for posting that this is a scam. The jerks behind this should be in jail! It is straight out fraud. I’ll file a complaint with the Attorney General’s office.

THe jerk involved with this is a man name George A Miller. If you search “Business Filings Division” it tells you it is a California corporation at 980 9th Street, 16th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814. THat is where these fraudsters are telling you to send the money.

The “agent for service” for “Business Filings Division” is another company, “GetINCToday, Inc.” and the person there is:

George A Miller
1807 W Burbank Blvd, Ste A
Burbank, CA 91505

Recommendation: When you file your complaint with the California Attorney General’s Office, give them Mr. Miller’s name and address!

I’m going to alert the local newspapers and see if they can’t run this story in the paper and let more people know they are getting ripped off!

IF you have paid the $239 (or $235) and the check has already cleared, please email me at birdie10987@yahoo.com. If enough people have been scammed (say 1,000) then everyone can join on class action lawsuit against George A. Miller and the other scammers and work at getting your money back. I’m sure the group can find a lawyer who will sue at no up front cost to anyone who has been scammmed and the lawyer will only take a fee if you get your money back!

Let’s take on these guys!

Thanks for the info! They almost got my $!

I wish I had looked into this sooner!

They caught me while I was in the middle of moving and the bill is due immediately, so I paid it….

I just received another one! It’s only been 2 months! I did find a phone# and told them they would be hearing from me since I’m disabled and they took advantage of me (I’m blind, so I’m hoping I can use that to my benefit)

Their phone # is hidden, its 916-993-3195 if anyone else wants to chew them out….I sure did….

Thanks for the alerts!

What a bummer. We just had kids and I haven’t slept in weeks. Got this bill from Business Filings DIvision and sent off a check last week. I just stopped the check which wasn’t deposited yet, but they’ve got a LOT of my info, signature, etc. I’m so angry. They’re just a couple pieces of info from being able to do some serious damage to my ID. Who are these people??? What are their names? Shouldn’t their names be known if they’re being sued in San Diego?

They got me once, but won’t get me again. I don’t take losing $239 lightly. How in the hell will I get justice . . .

Hey Charles, Frye / Wiles be happy to set up a web form that creates a database of people interested in suing if that would be better. -Rob

Viva the independents! I emailed two of my fellow indie business owners about the scam. Good to spread the word, cause given these tough economic times, I’m sure there alot of similar scams trying to fleece us. Not to “hi jack” this thread….but a similar one out there is being contacted via email that someone in Asia, wants to register your website domain name. Of course they ask you to send them doe in order to protect your domain name, etc. Be on the look out guys. take care…

WOW!! That was close! I had it signed, check made out, and almost in the mailbox when I thought “I should check it out online” and I am glad I did!! Mine was SLIGHTLY different though.. it says “Annual Filing Division” but the rest is the same.

Thank you!!!

Wow I’m surprised at how many other people got this letter. I just got mine last week, there were some slight changes from the one above but again, still the same. I’ve probably gotten almost 10 scam letters since filing my LLC last year. So as a helpful hint to anyone be sure to do your research before sending out any kind of payments or fees you weren’t expecting.

Wow. They are still at it. $239. They now give out an address and phone number. Of course you can’t speak with anyone.

Thanks for posting this. I was very close to sending a check.

Almost fell for this. I filled in the form and then decided to look online. Convincing looking. I imagine that they are raking in the money. My bill was for $235

So glad we used some smarts and checked on-line for info about this - our HOA got the same letter last week! I was ready to mail the $235.00 check today! Thanks to everyone and Nate for posting comments

Thanks so much for posting this. I thought something was wrong seeing how I just did this for the State about a month ago and paid 25.00 and get this. I thought I am getting online and finding out about it and seen your site first. Thank you for posting this it saved us 239.00. Thanks again for bring the a–holes to our attention.

I received two letters, one from Annual Filing Division ($195.00) and one from Business Filing Division…($239.00). My first thought was I missed the filing date and that was why they ask for $239.00… I did the math and found that not to be true.

I call the number at the bottom of the page and the lady that answered said that she knew nothing of the “Business Filing Division” but said that most people pay the lessor amount… Can you believe that?

I was just about to send a check for the smaller amount when I decided to look at the documents again… I wrote the check for the smaller amount and for some reason I thought I should Google “Annual Filing Division”

Thanks for being there. My fees are not due until next year.

[...] Southern California web design firm Frye / Wiles was hit with the scam as well and did a detailed write-up about on their blog. [...]

Once they have deposited the check is there anything that can be done?? Just got ripped off!

I paid the $239.00. Now I got another bill with Annual Filing Division ( $195.00). Now, you wonder what is the difference. Good thing I googled and found you guys. Thank you very much for the info. I already made a stop payment for the $239.00.

I also received one. I suggest you send the envelope back with no postage and no return address. I would think they would pay the postage with the chance someone enclosed a check. Total a**holes

Oh WOW, I’m so glad I used some sense and checked it on-line for info. Thank you for posting this Nate it saved me $235.00 Thanks again for bring the a–holes to our attention.

My brother just got one of those letters. Definitely a scam. It’s made to look “official” - they put their fake seal in the corner. It’s all very misleading and a ripoff. They listed their address as 980 Ninth Street in Sacramento. My brother asked me about it and I said that there wasn’t a state building at that address.

I just got one of these letters today. What tipped me off was the “Remit Immediatly!” and no phone number to call if you have a question.
Also, they ask you to make a check out to Business Filings Division instead of Secretary of State.
BE AWARE… THIS IS A SCAM!

Yes, thank you to everyone…I almost paid too!

I just got this form and luckily checked with my business manager and lawyer first. Once I found out it was not legit, I found this website. Now that I’m thrilled I don’t have to pay 195.00, I am extremely upset about this. I filed a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General. I also called the company and told them flat out what I thought about them. I suppose it’s not that surprising to find scams like this in tough economic times, but it really makes me angry, nonetheless. Thinking I’ll take someone else’s advice and send them copies of $20 bills!

I received the same and our financial almost paid it. I wanted to pay online and then found about the scam. Thses people should be exported to Guantanamo Bay.

To those who got duped, good news. You may just get your money back from these scammers.

http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/print_release.php?id=1817

My check to Business Filings went out in the mail today and in our mail I got the Annual Filing Division notice. Red Light! Via Google got straight to this blog and have already stopped payment on the check. Thanks for posting this important information. I am of a mind to send the Annual Filing folks a statement of what I think about their scam, but certainly not a check.

Thanks everyone for your posts and confirmation that this is not real. I was tipped off because we formed as a new LLC in October of 2008, sent in the requisite SOI and fees, and even on THIS form it states that after the initial “within 90 day” filing, it is to be every 2 years. Since this is not 2 years later I tried to call but got a voice mail (there actually is a number at the bottom of the sheet). I then “googled” it and, well, here I am. I had also filled out the first line before getting this far. Quite scary! Thanks again everyone.

Thank you for posting this, I am the Executive Assistant of a very small non-profit and I just received this in the mail. We get lots of mailings for state registrations for mailings from every state but I knew this one looked unlike the rest, so I googled it, and up you popped liked a shining beam of awesome scam-killing goodness! Thanks! Lisa

We received the letter as well, but something just did not seem right, so I googled it and came across this! thank you so much

Dear trouble solvers:

Million thanks for this posting to help out public.

we received the letter from Business Filing Division, Corporation Unit, 980 Ninth St. 16th Fl., Sacramento, CA 95814-2736.

We received the same threatening letter with form threated us of suspension if we don’t send to them $235 immediately! We are a small nonprofilt religious org. busy and has limited help. received this kind of letter, made us worried. we spend time to look into our records to see if we have forgotten the filing…We just did it in July 09.

We search for it web and found your posting, you enlightedn us, Meagan. Thanks millions.

We wonder, does the State Secretary allow them to get our business address, name and corporation number?

May you all stayway from scamms and crooks
Thank you
Lani

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PUTTING THIS BLOG UP! I got one of these letters this year. I have others from other scams in past years. I wonder how many people have paid them? Luckily I saw the fine print and googled just to try to get a number to call and complain but ran across your blog first. Thank you again for posting this blog.

Hey Nate, thanks for setting up this site to inform us about this scam. We have now received 3 of these BFD notices at my company, and one (so far) for the Annual Filing Division. Thanks to you and Megan Hughes, we did not mail payment, but rather forwarded all notices to the CA Dept. of Justice Public Inquiry Unit. Thanks so much!!!

Holy Crap!!!! How is this going on? I got spooked when I got mine because I had failed to file our Statement of Info with the SOS. I am so glad that I went to the CA Business Portal and filed there, FOR $25!!!!
How are these MFers operating? WTF. Where Tyler Durdan when you need him? WOW!
THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS!!!!!

I received a letter today from the BFD and it looked suspicious to me so I looked up in our records and we aren’t due to file until next year. The $235 amount was also a tip off that something was not quite right. I know the state of California is not well off, but that’s what these scammers are counting on — making us think our taxes have gone up or our records are not in order.

Since I work downtown in Sacramento I decided to visit the 16th floor of 980 Ninth Street, where the mail originated. The company on the floor is regus.com which sells virtual office space, so it is nothing but a mail drop for the BFD. I did get a phone number from the receptionist: 916-903-5355.

I also filed a complaint with the State Attorney general and the mail fraud division of the post office (which is right across the street from where this is going on!)

Thank you for having this blog as a way to double check those first impressions!

Hi folks,

I just checked with the Secretary of State’s website and searched for the Business Filings DIvision. Here’s what is registered to them:

Corporation
BUSINESS FILINGS DIVISION
Number: C3207566 Date Filed: 4/28/2009 Status: active
Jurisdiction: California
Address
980 9TH ST, 16TH FLOOR
SACRAMENTO, CA 95814
Agent for Service of Process
GETINCTODAY, INC.
1807 W BURBANK BL STE A
BURBANK, CA 91505

Get Inc Today’s website is:
http://www.getinctoday.com/

Toll Free (877) 723-CORP - or 1-877-723-2677

email: info@getinctoday.com

Can you tell this scam makes me really mad??? Time to report them to the Better Business Bureau!

Thanks for putting this information on the net. I just paid $233 to these jerks.

Good news, State of California is actually doing something about it, they are suing the scam artists for over $3 Million, posted here:

http://zedomax.biz/blog/shitlist/business-filings-division-and-annual-filings-division-scam-artists-caught-and-sued/

I just rec’d this form too. I live in TN. I thought, since CA has budget problems they raised filing fee. I thought this fee was outragouse high. I’m glad I look up w/ your site.
Thanks.

Thanks for some great information, everyone! Color me skeptical, but after getting two of these within a week, I figured something was up. I’ve filed fraud complaints with the USPS and am thinking of filing complaints with the Attorney General’s office. Take THAT, scammers!

Business Filing Division is being sued but they have not filed against Annual Filing Division yet, they are scamming just as many people!

We need to make sure they get shutdown! If you get something from them, make a complaint! The greater the number of complaints the quicker AG’s office will take action!

These guys are being sued by the Attorney General. See the press release.

http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/release.php?id=1817

Interesting how it is worded. The letter is not a scan but an expensive authorization option to have them file on your behalf. Wonder if they actually do that. I bet you they are. They copy the info over and then pay the $25.00.

Their only flaw in this letter is the words Remit Immediately. This is the ONLY problem with their letter. Everything else is a fact and they do say is small print you are authorizing them to file on your behalf.

Obviously, what takes someone to fill this out is the same time it takes to fill out the $25 form. So, definitely a rip off; not much of scam. Just a silly overpriced nonsense service.

State of California, Department of Justice

Has anyone looked into a class action lawsuit for deceptive marketing?

Yep Business Filing Division got me for $239. It was incorporated in Ca on 4-28-2009. Agent for service is Getinctoday inn. in Burbank. Getinctoday was incorporated in CA on 5-2-2008 and lists George A Miller as agent at the same Burbank address. No phone number for George. I am back tracing my check and will complaine to their bank. I have filed a complaint with the postal inspector. Then today I got an identical form from ” Annual filings division” wanting $195. They are incorporated in CA on 8-26-2009. and list Corporate Service Co as their agent. They list United States Service company as their agent and United States service company lists Prentice-Hall as their agent. Prentice Hall lists United States Service Company as their agent. A circle Jerk! I found an address and phone number for Corporation Service Company ( remember them?) and their voice mail lists Holly Miller, Lisa Miller and Lindsy Miller. Loks like this is a Miller Family affair.

It looked suspicious from the outset. God Bless Google and folks like yourself for bringing awareness to predators like this.

I Have a better Idea. Forget the fake $20 bills

I just sent them a piece of toilet paper that I wiped my ass with.

;-}

Yeah, I got two of these after filing for my LLC. They just smelled like scam from the start. I opened it the first time and turned to my wife, this has to be some scam. Looked it up on the internet, and sure enough.

How do people who operate like this sleep at night? Very sad.

This place is a scam, they requested $195 within 3 days of receipt of the letter:
Annual Filing Division
1215 K Street, 17th floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-993-3195

Earlier this summer, these people requested $239, to be remitted immediately:
Business Filings Division
980 Ninth Street, 16th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-903-5355

I’m posting this info in hopes someone else Googles them and finds this site. I got taken for $239, and thought the first place was legit. And that the second one was fake..and now I realize that they were both fake. Lame.

I was dummy enough to send the check for the $239 when one weed later I got another notice for $195 from Annual Business Division. I called several times the phone provided in the notice thinking that there was an error. Anyway, I decided to look for another phone number in google when I found this page. Thanks guys this is very helpful… I hope it is not too late for me.

Thanks for the post! I received a similar notice for the amount of $235 — may be they’re giving me a $4 break because I’m a non-profit. Anyway, I will be reporting this to the California AG’s Office as well as the department of consumer affairs.

Thanks for the post. Save me time and money. I will contact the Attorney General, State of California, Department of Justice (800) 735-2933 and file complaint.

I got one of these for my family foundation which normally pays $20 to the Secty of State for an annual filing fee; thanks for the tipoff

I’m so glad I followed my instincts and did the Google search. I was about to just bite the bullet thinking that all fees everywhere are going up but something told me to look them up because BFD did not sound familiar to previous legit forms I had been sent and I also knew that the real one also offered the option to pay online and provide contact info. This was the first clue for me.

Thank you so much for posting this.

I just received this notice the other day from Annual Filing Division. They want $195. I guess that’s a deal compared to the one you received.

What made me think something was wrong was something that might make many people fall for the trick. The due date was really soon after receiving the letter. I had about a week to ten days to make the payment.

When is the last time you received a new bill that you only had a week to pay? I can’t think of one. The government sure gives you a lot of time to pay your bills, too. (45-60 days at times?)

The next thing that made me scratch my head was the due date itself. I filed my statement of information just a few months ago. Red Flag for me.

I hope everyone googles this. This blog came right up. THANK YOU FOR POSTING!!!!

I just typed out my letter to the Attorney General’s Office. I will send the form and envelope that I received along with it.

I encourage everyone else to do the same. We’re all in this together!

California Attorney General’s Office
Public Inquiry Unit
P.O. Box 944255
Sacramento, California 94244-2550

I know snail mail sucks, but sometimes its gotta be done.

Got one, too. Suspected it was a fraud due to the amount, looked to call and no number. Thank you so much for this posting! Mine also has a due date immediately so recipients will rush to get their check in the mail. Bastards!

I got one. I always check the web before engage in the transaction.

This article saved my behind!! I was about the send a check in; but decided to call first. When I couldn’t find a #, I Googled it and found this article. Thank you for saving my behind!

All I can say is thank you so much for this blog
I was just filling it out and I also tried to call
and got some crap about have to many calls
I can’t believe they get away with this.
Just to let you know, they have changed the form
some and have a different stamp too, but it is the same crap. But they have my real filing #
that scares me.
Thank you so much again, money is so tight

This blog was helpful. I also recieved the same letter asking me te to remit $235.00 ‘Immediately’. Upon calling the CA State Business Filings Division, I wa sinformed that this is a scam going on which the state is investigating and thet the letter should be ignored. This is amazing. What levels some people will go for easy money though this looks like a very organized scam. Beaware!

Wow! I almost submitted my “late” payment of $239, hoping not to be penalized because I missed the deadline. The only reason I googled it is because I wanted to call them to see if I can ‘get out’ of the penalties - and only to stumble on this blog! OMG! Imagine I would have paid almost $500 to the scam!!! Thank you!!!!!

I almost fell for it too! Thanks for this.

I fell for it. The form did look just like the usual form with my filing number and everything looked as usual. I didn’t see the envelope as my secretary opens the mail. I just figured the crooks were the usual suspects, the state, getting deeper in my wallet. I just grumbled something profane about Arnold and sent the check off. LUCKILY, I made the check out to the Secretary of State and they returned it asking I make it out to “Business Filing Division” THEN I caught on. I sent back a strong response in lew of a check, well worth the stamp. Dodged a bullet there.

I’m the treasurer of our small dog club and knew we had filed our info last year with the Secretary of State. When I received this notice, my first thought was that due to the State of CA’s budget woes, they had increased the fees. The misspellings in the letter tipped me off. I will write and demand they remove us from their mailing list. It was great finding your website to reaffirm my suspicions. It would be nice to mail them some ‘leftovers’ from one of our dog club events!

Hello, thank you for posting this. I thought it was suspect when I called the number at the bottom of the letter, and the person (sounded indian accent) gave me a new address to send the 239 $ payment to.

I googled the address and it went to some lawyers directory. What a scam !

Why isn’t the IRS cracking down on the f*ckers ?!!!

Our house coop got scammed by those people. I am glad this website is here. It helped me to take some action. I already put a complaint at the better business bureau. I would to talk to them in person I say what I think about them.
The weird thing about it, the authorities haven’t done anything about it!

My wife got duped and paid the 239. When she got yet another bill from the annual filing division for 195, she then complained to me how the state is screwing small business owners. I looked at all the paperwork and knew something was up, googled it and found this site. You should have seen the look on her face! We are struggling right now just to make payroll and put food in the table. We really could not afford this scam. What is so disheartening is that it has gone on so long and nobody has done anything about it.
It is criminal and the folks doing this should be locked up by now. Sounds like the property owners are also accomplices and aiding the fraud.
But I really appreciate you guys for getting the word out and making enough noise to finally get the attorney general’s office to do something- even if it is too little too late. I will forward the papers and cashed check to their office anyway. I am also going to visit the two Sacramento addresses and get in somebody’s face. I don’t mess around with people who rip me off and I am here local. One way or another, I’m either going to get my money back or get my money’s worth! IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!

[...] a web search. And lo and behold, my suspicions were confirmed. Lots of others have written about these scams [...]

Thanks for the post, Nate! I just received this letter and thought it was odd that the bottom of the letter read, ‘…this offer is not being made by an agency of the government.’ Then I googled ‘Business Filings Division’ and found this. Phew!

So, for this lawsuit, if we had lost funds, is there any way to recover this? has anyone heard anything else in regards with it?

I knew it! I had a weird feeling about the whole form. My husband handed it over to me to “take care of it”. I am a procrastinator so I didn’t get to it right away… tonight, in order to avoid an altercation with my husband, I was about to complete the D&# form! I am someone who always looks at logos to admire the art work. Well, the logo on this form looked so lame I became suspicious. Thank you so much for posting the information. You just saved me money, and for the first time ever… I was glad to have procrastinated. Thanks!!!

[...] after a blog post I made a few months ago that garnered a lot of attention on a scam outfit known as the [...]

I got a letter yesterday from Corporate Filing Unit demanding payment of $225 by the day after tomorrow! I called the number listed in tiny print at the bottom of the page and got a recording saying to reach them via email at info@corporatefilingunit.com, a website that does not exist.Does anyone know if these people are being prosecuted by the State of California?

YES…I got ripped off too!!! I learned through the $239.00 loss to for now on look over each personal & business bill I receive super closely!!! What’s amazing to me is that I heard on the news several hundred thousand people/businesses receive this bill annually…If only 100,000 people reply with a check…these con artists are making MILLIONS$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
!!! UNBELIEVABLE!

I too was scammed by “Business Filing Division” for $239.00. I realized I was scammed when I received a second letter from “Corporate Filing Unit” asking for $225.00. AGHHHHHH!!!!
Why is the state of California not alerting the public to these scams other than the Customer Alert Misleading Business Solicitations posted on their website? How is the state protecting small business if our representatives are not letting us know through the media or by mail that we are being scammed?

OMG - how stupid am I–been so busy that I got duped TWICE…once for $239 and then 2 days ago I just sent in another check for $225. I didn’t even recall making the $239 payment until I found my copies by accident while looking for tax docs on the weekend…what a moron I am! THANKS for your posting–at least I could place a stop order on my second check today. I’ll still file a formal complaint against them tomorrow.

This scam is coming directly from a company named CorpFilers. They’re located in Valencia, CA

Thanks a lot for posting this! I received it and could avoid paying for it.

Does this notice also come in post card form? Just received a post card yesterday, received letters that you have been talking about too.
January 14,2010

OMG…I just found your blog and I have been getting these too and I have paid every single one of them! OMG!
I am so pissed right now! I am going to call the police and file a report!
UGHHH

What is the address of “Business Filings Division”. I don’t have the address where I sent the check!

I paid them a few months ago and just realized I got scammed. They are going to get a visit.