'Corporate Records' mailer is a scam | Crime

Many Bartlett and Lakeland businesses -- and their accountants -- are calling the bluff of a corporate tax scam.

The Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South and the Tennessee Secretary of State confirmed a mailing that appears to be a corporate tax notice from a company named Corporate Records Service is actually a fraud.

The mailings are sent from a Nashville, TN post office box. The envelope looks official, with baiting language like "Important" and "Annual Minutes Requirement Statement."

The form inside the mailer references portions of Tennessee law concerning the rules of holding meetings and keeping minutes. It implores small business owners to fill out the form and send $125.

Don't do it. Destroy it.

"There are disclosures on the envelope and the form stating that it’s not a government document and that Corporate Records Service is not a government agency," said the BBB in a news release. "However, some recipients won't notice them or understand that the service is not required by the state."

The BBB's rules on solicitations like these:

·         Ignore solicitations from Corporate Records Service. They are fraudulent.

·         Beware of similar mailings such as those peddling labor related notices that are required to be posted in the workplace and those targeting homeowners by implying that they must order a copy of their deed.

·         No matter how official they look, don’t assume such mailings are from the government. Read them carefully and look for disclosures. When in doubt, contact the BBB or the government agency the letters reference.

·         Be particularly wary if they require a hefty fee.