Your business filings are public, so official-looking offers follow: annual report “services,” certificates and posters, often for far more than the real thing costs, or for something free.
5 letters to check before you pay
Certificates of good standing
Your Secretary of State issues them directly; free online in Colorado. Colorado settled with two such mailers for $150,000 in September 2026.
Annual report “filing services”
File directly with your state. Colorado requires these mailers to say, in 24-point type, that they’re ads, and bans deadline dates.
Labor law posters
Required federal posters are free from the Department of Labor.
Trademark and patent “renewals”
Real USPTO mail comes from Alexandria, VA 22313. Check your deadlines on uspto.gov.
“Beneficial ownership” demands
U.S. companies are exempt (final rule, August 2026). FinCEN charges no fee, and “Form 4022” and “Form 5102” are fake.
The tells
- “This is a solicitation … not a bill” printed on it. Federal law requires that wording.
- “THIS IS NOT A GOVERNMENT DOCUMENT” on the envelope.
- A return or payment address that isn’t the agency’s.
- A deadline and a fee for something you can get directly, often free.
Never ignore
- The IRS. Look up any notice by its CP or LTR number on irs.gov.
- Your state tax department and Secretary of State. When in doubt, go to the agency’s site directly.
- Court papers, including anything from your registered agent.
- Your bank, insurers and payment processors.
Good to know
How to report one
Your state attorney general (in Colorado, StopFraudColorado.gov), the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at uspis.gov.
See your business mail before it arrives
The free Informed Delivery email shows the outside of incoming letter-size mail. Home-based? Use your home address. A business street address or PO Box needs a USPS.com business account.
Sources
39 U.S.C. § 3001 (look-alike invoices and government notices); Colorado Secretary of State on the Deceptive Solicitations Act; Colorado Attorney General lawsuit (July 2025); Colorado Politics on the September 2026 settlement; U.S. Department of Labor, workplace posters; Washington Attorney General poster alert; USPTO, Non-USPTO solicitations; FinCEN, Beneficial ownership information; IRS on how it contacts taxpayers; USPS Informed Delivery.
Sample morning email
Today: 1 letter worth opening
- Internal Revenue Service: open today
- “Good Standing Records Office”: looks official, isn’t from the state. Your Secretary of State issues this directly.
- 3 pitches from companies you don’t use: stop these? Yes / Not now
Example with invented senders.
Or let us check every envelope: Official or Not?
Forward us your free Informed Delivery preview. Each morning we email you only when something matters: the IRS, your state, your insurer, your bank, a court. Official-looking offers are flagged before you pay, with a link to the real source.
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Mailbox Zero is independent and not affiliated with the U.S. Postal Service or any government agency. Informed Delivery is a free service of the U.S. Postal Service. Flags are a heads-up, not legal advice, and this page is general information.
