The Latest Scam!

If you’re the owner of an Arizona LLC, you’re likely to receive correspondence from ARIZONA BUSINESS FILING SERVICES. The letter, which arrives in an official looking envelope, claims to alert you to the fact that you do not have a current Certificate of Good Standing and need to reply by a due date and pay $59.99 to get one. Beware – this is a SCAM!!!

The Arizona Corporation Commission handles business registration and ongoing compliance in Arizona. It does not delegate these duties to any private agency and recently issued a “SCAM ALERT” and press release noting that it is not affiliated in any way with the entity sending these letters. Further, the Arizona Corporation Commission is the ONLY entity which can issue an official Certificate of Good Standing and you can get one for $10.00 if you make the request by mail. The matter has been referred to the Arizona Attorney General for investigation on grounds of false advertising and other possible charges.

So if you get the letter, you can just pitch it. Or if you’d prefer, contact the Attorney General’s office (www.azag.gov) or one of their various satellite offices throughout the state) and file a complaint against the scammer. But whatever you do, don’t reply and certainly don’t send them money! If you need a Certificate of Good Standing, just go to the Corporation Commission’s website and get one directly.