Fake government letter demands your money

U.S. Postal Inspectors are warning about scammers posing as government agencies and demanding money.

Postal Inspectors said thousands of small businesses received a note, claiming to be from the Labor Compliance Office, ordering them to pay $275. The letter had a state seal and warning that read, ‘failure to comply could lead to fines and an audit.’

Paola Ibarra just opened a children’s clothing store and was one of the businesses targeted.

“It looked very legal…So we paid without hesitation,” Ibarra said. “We knew once we filed the LLC there were a couple of taxes that had to be due within 90 days of the opening.”

Three months later, Ibarra discovered she was one of 125,000 business owners who received the fraudulent letter.

“Small business owners received this official looking invoice and they thought they had to pay it,” said US Postal Inspector Wynter Kugel. “They wanted to keep their business in compliance, they wanted to continue to run their business the way they are supposed to.”

Inspectors said if all the recipients had sent the money, the scam could have produced more than $35 million.

“The fraudsters prey on unsuspecting business owners, knowing they are going to get a lot of results and a lot of checks in the mail for doing nothing,” said Kugel. “These fraudsters only want one thing. Your money.”

US Postal Inspectors said take time to research if the company or organization that sends you a bill is legitimate. Also, do an internet search on the company and see what comes up. Postal Inspectors said often you may find it has already been identified as a scam.

Postal Inspectors said they were able to return most of the money to the victims. The suspects, who created the letters, signed a cease and desist order and promised not to take part in such activity again.