Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett has issued a press release warning businesses and individuals about a new scam targeting Tennesseans.
The scam is an official-looking mailer from TN UCC Statement Service that “incorrectly implies that businesses or individuals need a copy of the UCC-1 financing statement filed against them,” according to a press release by Hargett’s office. The scam mailer urges recipients to pay $107 for “the TN UCC Statement Service to request a copy of the UCC-1 financing statement on behalf of the debtor.”
NEW SCAM! We’ve learned of a new misleading mailer trying to trick Tennesseans into paying an excessive amount for a UCC Statement from our Division of Business and Charitable Organizations that they probably don’t need. For more info, visit https://t.co/vshhpY8Z8G. pic.twitter.com/r08FkEfISh
— Tre Hargett (@tnsecofstate) September 21, 2022
“Our Division of Business and Charitable Organizations and I were recently made aware of a new misleading mailer trying to take advantage of Tennesseans,” Secretary Hargett said in a statement. “The look and language used on this mailer tries to trick borrowers into paying an excessive amount for a document they will most likely never need.”
The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is “a comprehensive set of laws governing all commercial transactions in the United States,” as defined by the Uniform Law Commission. The commission notes that the UCC is not a federal law, but a uniformly adopted state law.
Secretary Hargett’s office notes that a UCC-1 financing statement is a “legal form that a creditor files to give notice that it has the right to take possession of and sell certain assets belonging to the debtor for the repayment of a specific debt.” The Secretary of State’s Division of Business and Charitable Organizations issues approximately 200,000 UCC-1 forms each year.
“I encourage Tennesseans to be wary of any mailings they get from third-party companies that say they will work with my office on your behalf,” Secretary Hargett further stated. “These organizations are not affiliated with or authorized by my office in any way. They are charging excessive amounts for something you likely will never need and, if you do, can be easily obtained through our office.”
Secretary Hargett is encouraging those who receive suspicious mail about a UCC-1 financing statement to report it to the Division of Business and Charitable Organizations and the Tennessee Attorney General’s office by filing a complaint at www.tn.gov/content/tn/attorneygeneral/working-for-tennessee/consumer/file-a-complaint.html
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Mailbox” by Jon Parise. CC BY-SA 2.0.
