Scammers pretend to be USPTO, this is how to protect yourself

Fraudsters are impersonating the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), urging gullible business owners to immediately pay a large sum of money to protect their trademark or intellectual property (IP).

For those who own a business, you know how important it is to protect a trademark and intellectual property. That’s where the USPTO comes in: as an independent agency affiliated with the U.S. Department of Commerce, it serves as the national trademark registration authority and patent office for the United States.

Therefore, a call, email, or text message from the USPTO should be handled with great care. But what if someone pretends to be an employee of the Patent and Trademark Office? How can you tell the difference between an authentic staff member and a scammer?

For example, let’s say you get an email or call from someone claiming to be an IP expert or a lawyer specializing in trademark examining working for the USPTO. He says you have to complete your trademark application before someone else registers the same trademark. Or, he may say that your trademark has been approved, needs renewal, or is about to expire.

To properly manage these affairs, you must pay immediately using your credit or debit card, wire transfer, payment app, or gift card.

“This might all seem real, with the USPTO seal or logo, a real staffer’s name, and maybe even a real USPTO phone number on caller ID. But every bit of it’s a scam,” the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns.

In order to avoid or recognize scams like these, the antitrust supervisor recommends distrusting your caller ID. Your caller ID might show the name of the USPTO and their actual phone number, but the caller ID can be faked by using spoofing software.

Secondly, the USPTO will never ask for payment information over the phone, by email, or by text message. On top of that, only scammers will demand immediate payment by wiring money, using payment apps, or putting money on a gift card.

Lastly, slow down and check your trademark’s status on the USPTO’s Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR) tool. Additionally, the USPTO’s Trademark Assistance Center knows all about your trademark application or registration.

Only use phone numbers and URLs from the source. Never use any link or QR code that came in an email or text message, which could route you directly to the scammers.