The Better Business Bureau serving Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions are warning businesses about solicitations designed to look like invoices, according to a BBB release. The solicitation, designed to look like it’s from the secretary of state, arrives through postal mail, is being reported to both BBB and DFI as from “WI Certificate Service” and requests a payment of $72.50 for a “certificate of status.” The solicitation is not a valid invoice and businesses are advised not to pay it. To avoid falling victim to a misleading solicitation, BBB recommends that businesses:
- Have a solid internal control process for paying invoices. Carefully check invoices against an improved vendor list before processing them for payment.
- Train employees to follow internal processes and never pay invoices before vetting them and getting authorization to pay.
- Question any invoice that does not look familiar and does not match an approved vendor list.
