At the start of this year, 33.2 million small businesses were operating in the U.S. Estimates say they make up about 99% of all companies in the country. That is a considerable percentage of owners who need to navigate the challenges of running a company. Tap or click here for free resources to grow your business.
Starting a business is tough, and many pitfalls can cost owners dearly, especially first-time entrepreneurs. Heaps of paperwork can be confusing, and some documents might seem unnecessary. Now you have to watch for scammers looking to rip you off.
Read on for details on this sneaky scheme to trick business owners into paying an unnecessary fee.
Here’s the backstory
Registering a new business takes a lot of planning and filling in numerous forms while ensuring they are correct. If you mess up a submission or omit certain information, it can delay registration.
One of these is a Certificate of Existence issued by the state. Also called a Certificate of Good Standing, it records the information of the business entity, such as the owner’s details and the registration number.
After you’ve set up your business as a Limited Liability Company (LLC), you can easily obtain a Certificate of Existence. But here’s the problem.
According to the Better Business Bureau, scammers send out emails or letters…
