Scammers are impersonating the United States Patent and Trademark Office

If you own a business or know someone who does, you know how important a trademark is for protecting your intellectual property. Scammers do, too, and they’re impersonating the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to steal your money. Here’s how the scam works.

You get an “urgent” call, text, or email that looks like it’s from the USPTO. It may even use the name of a real USPTO employee, like a trademark examining attorney. They say you need to pay by phone — or by clicking a link in the text or email — to complete your application before someone else registers the same trademark. Or they say your trademark was just approved or needs renewal and to pay them immediately. They might say to pay with a credit or debit card, or with a wire transfer, payment app, or gift card. But in any of those cases, it’s not actually the USPTO reaching out. It’s a scammer who tried to look real by faking caller ID, using the name of a real USPTO employee, or using an official-looking USPTO seal.

To help you avoid a scam like this:

• Don’t trust your caller ID. Your caller ID might show the name of the USPTO and their actual phone number, but caller ID can be faked.
• Know that the USPTO will never ask for payment info over the phone, by text, or in an email. And they won’t say you can only pay by wiring money, using a payment app, or putting money on a gift card. Only scammers do that.
• Check the status of your application yourself. Use the USPTO’s online Trademark Status and Document Retrieval tool to look up trademark applications and registrations. For more information, you can also visit the USPTO’s Trademark Assistance Center or call 1-800-786-9199.

Learn more about government impersonation scams at ftc.gov/imposters. And if you get a call, text, or email like this, tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

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