Fraudsters are taking advantage of Covid-19 disruption by targeting businesses with fake letters demanding a “registration fee” in order to process an intellectual property (IP) application, a major regulator has warned.
According to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the invoice scam has been reported by multiple applicants over the past month.
The invoice, a copy of which can be found here, uses the EUIPO’s logo, name, acronym and letterhead, and purports to be a decision signed by the Office. In the letter, applicants are asked to transfer a “registration fee” to a bank account held by the fraudster.
Warning users to stay alert to scams, the EUIPO said it will “never” send invoices or demand for payment of money to users.
“If you receive a demand for money for anything to do with your trade mark by post or email, it does not come from us. Even if it uses our logo, and appears to be official, it does not come from us”, said the office.
“Check everything you receive in relation to your trade mark application or registration very closely. If you have even the slightest doubt, contact us; we are committed to protecting our users against fraud, and we want you to let us know if you have received anything that looks suspicious.”
The warning comes after the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said it had removed more than 2,000 online scams related to the coronavirus in the last month alone. These included 471 fake online shops selling fraudulent coronavirus-related items, 555 malware distribution sites set up to cause significant damage to any visitors, 200 phishing sites seeking personal information such as passwords or credit card details, and 832 advance-fee frauds where a large sum of money is promised in return for a set-up payment.
If you have any concerns about your application or suspected fraudulent correspondence, please get in touch with our expert IP team today.