by Jamil Ragland
State officials issued a warning Friday about a government imposter scam that is targeting Connecticut businesses.
Attorney General William Tong, Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas, Commissioner of Banking Jorge Perez, and Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli released a statement about a scam in which a company called CT UCC Statement Service attempts to get businesses to pay $90 for a copy of a Uniform Commercial Code report. The solicitation is designed to look like a government notice, although CT UCC Statement Service has no affiliation with any state agency.
A UCC financing statement is a form documenting that a creditor, such as a bank, has a lien on a borrower’s personal property. These forms are filed with the Secretary of the State and provide proof of the assets subject to the lien to other creditors. UCC reports can be accessed free of charge on the Secretary of the State’s website.
“It is important for businesses to keep an eye out for these types of scams. This company in particular, targets business entities that recently obtained a loan or other extension of credit,” Commissioner Perez said. “These mailed solicitations are misleading and deceptive as they attempt to charge a fee in exchange for obtaining documents that businesses can access at no cost.”
“We advise businesses to carefully read any correspondence that appears to charge a fee in order to obtain any document(s) associated with a loan or other extension of credit,” Perez added. “Before paying any type of fee, businesses should independently verify the company and contact the appropriate government agency with any concerns.”
Scams such as this one have been an increasing problem for the state and nationally. According to the Federal Trade Commission, Connecticut consumers lost roughly $57.5 million to scams in 2022 – a nearly $15 million increase over the 2021 total despite a drop in overall fraud reports. The scams primarily took the forms of investor communications and other imposter scams similar to the one being perpetrated by the CT UCC Statement Service.
Connecticut is part of a national trend that saw fraud losses balloon from $5.8 billion nationally in 2021 to $8.1 billion in 2022. That figure is six times greater than it was in 2018.“Business owners should never give in to threatening letters, emails, or calls that encourage them to act immediately or face consequences,” Commissioner Cafferelli said. “Those kinds of pressure tactics are almost always the signs of a scam. And if you’re unsure, you can do research online, or send an email or make a phone call to the correct agency to verify the notice you received is false before paying any money to a scammer.”