Hacker News Reader

Another version of the grift is to scrape lists of newly registered businesses and send out an official looking letter charging $80 to send a laminated poster of the kind that some states mandate be posted, e.g. about workers' comp.

Except that these materials can typically be printed out for free, and the letter makes every effort to appear to be a mandatory bill coming from a government agency.

View on HN

I once had 3 guys in suits show up to a new office my work had opened. They acted very official, asked to see our labor posters. I told them we don't have any (should've asked for ID right then). They told me I could avoid a fine if I bought some from them on the spot. At that point I caught on, asked for ID - they showed me something official looking that didn't actually say they were government. Once I asked them point blank if they worked for the government they admitted it was a private company and I told them to leave.

It was a total scam, but it did make us be sure to get our labor posters hung up though. (We just asked our payroll provider to send them to us and they were free.)

Reply on news.ycombinator.com