We have had several clients tell us they have received letters that look “official” requesting them to complete a form with social security numbers and to send back. We urge you to be cautious and consult with your CPA prior to releasing this information. We can check with the agency to see if the request is valid or not. It is very important to keep social security numbers private and secure as identity theft is a serious problem. For your reference, we found helpful information online at: http://www.onguardonline.gov/topics/identity-theft.aspx

We also found an alert for Indiana businesses on our Secretary of State Todd Rokita’s web site. They report that several businesses have received a deceptive letter that would appear to come from an official government source. The letter solicits an annual fee of $125 or $150 and claims it will be used for record keeping and processing of a company’s annual minutes. It gives the appearance of coming from a legitimate government agency and cites fictitious state law. For the full report, follow this link: http://www.in.gov/sos/business/ScamAlert.html

If you have any questions or comments about how fraud and identity theft have affected you or your business, please let us know.