(KIWA Staff Photo)
Statewide Iowa (RI) — Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says a new state law is a good first step in addressing scammers who use real Iowa addresses when filing out online forms to register fake businesses.
Chris Coleman, president of the Iowa Better Business Bureau, says a group of neighbors in West Des Moines found out their addresses had been hijacked by a scammer.
The new law gives the secretary of state’s office authority to investigate these complaints and remove a business name from its records if the registered agent does not respond to a certified letter within 21 days. Pate says he wants to go further than simply removing the fraudulent name off the state’s list of incorporated businesses.
Pate says it’s difficult, though, because many scammers are based in other countries. Coleman says many Iowans have been subjected to internet fraud.
The Federal Trade Commission estimates Iowans lost at least $52 million in 2024 to financial fraud.
