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AG: Businesses beware of fake agency mailer

Posted at 9:09 PM, May 17, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-18 00:09:47-04

The Arizona Attorney General's Office says local small businesses are targets of the "Annual Minutes" solicitations.

The agency says it has received complaints about official looking mailers, claiming that businesses they owe money as an annual requirement for them to stay in business.

Take a look at a copy of the mailer

The amounts range from $125 to $150.

The AG says "The forms may look like legitimate government documents but they are not.  The forms are particularly misleading because corporations are required to file an Annual Report with the Arizona Corporation Commission and pay a fee."

The "annual minutes" notice claims to be from the "Arizona Corporate Headquarters" and encourages businesses to mail payments to a location on Central Avenue.

We checked it out and found that the location is an old address for a UPS Store that moved more than a year ago. It's unknown if victims payments are being forwarded to the new address.

Arizona corporations really are required to file a yearly report.

But that report is only to be filed with the Arizona Corporation Commission.The AG says that agency does not mail notices and companies file updates electronically.  

If you get a letter asking for payment of any kind, check it out before sending any money.

Find out which agency says you owe and debt and get on the phone with them immediately to verify.

Need my help? Call the Assistance League of Phoenix volunteers at 1-855-323-1515. You can also send me an email joe@abc15.com or a video email where you attach a video explaining the problem.

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