South Carolina Secretary of State Mark Hammond issued an advisory advisory on a scheme to sell fake “status certificates” to companies.
“Our office has received several complaints from companies claiming that they had received a letter in the mail from an entity called the SC Certification Service,” said Hammond.
“The letter was intended to provide a ‘South Carolina Status Certificate’ for $ 87.25. Businesses should be aware that this is not an official certificate issued by the state of South Carolina, and that this so-called status certificate is not required to conduct business transactions in this state. “
The letter from the SC Certification Service falsely states that “A South Carolina Status Certificate is issued by the Secretary of State and may be required for loans, for renewing business licenses or for tax or other business purposes”.
The Secretary of State’s Office does not issue a statute certificate as indicated in the letter. Although a company on file with the Secretary of State can request a Certificate of Existence from the Secretary of State, a Certificate of Existence is issued only by the Office of the Secretary of State and not by a private entity. In addition, the fee for a Certificate of Existence is $ 10, not $ 87.25.
Hammond asked anyone who received this letter or similar correspondence to contact the Secretary of State’s Office immediately.
“It is a pity that there are scammers out there who try to take advantage of companies by marketing these fake documents,” said Hammond. “I implore companies and consumers to verify the legitimacy of any requests they receive before sending any money.”
The Secretary of State’s Business Archives Division can be contacted at (803) 734-2158 or through the Secretary of State’s website at sos.sc.gov.
The Office of the Secretary of State issued a cease-and-desist letter to the SC Certificate Service and referred the matter to law enforcement for further investigation.