FLOWERY BRANCH – A scam that managed to defraud a business in Flowery Branch out of $2000 has attracted the attention of the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.
Flowery Branch Investigator Robin Kemp said in an interview with AccessWDUN today, “We were notified by an Asian business here in town that they had been contacted by someone purporting to be from the Georgia Cosmetic Board claiming they were in violation of some of the regulations there.”
“They run a nail salon,” Kemp said of the victimized business owner who had paid the scammers the amount demanded to establish an escrow fund so as to not have their business license revoked. The escrow fund does not exist according to Kemp.
This afternoon Secretary of State Brian Kemp (no relation to Investigator Robin Kemp) issued a warning from Atlanta alerting professional license holders across the state not to be scammed by fraudulent calls and emails from a fake entity calling itself “The Bureau of Occupational Licensing.”
Secretary Kemp said in his office’s release, “You may receive aggressive calls or emails on official-looking letterhead alleging that your business has violated the law, but the ‘Bureau of Occupational Licensing’ is not a real government agency in Georgia. Do not fall for this scam, and immediately report all suspicious activities to our investigators or local law enforcement.”
Investigator Kemp said he feels the scammers visited the nail salon at some unknown point to have some creditable subject matter about the business so as to make their violation accusations more believable.
“They put in there their license number. Apparently they had gone in there and looked at their license and been able to get that number,” Kemp said. “They used that in the letter to shed some legitimacy on what they’re wanting to do.”
Secretary Kemp said the scam appears to be targeting people in the cosmetology and nail care industry, and might be targeting individuals with limited English proficiency by using confusingly worded emails and rambling legalese.
He added that the scam appears to be headed by someone calling himself “Tai Le” and using the telephone numbers of (470) 345-9707 or (470) 528-1105 to contact potential victims.
Both Kemps encourage anyone having contact with Tai Le or anyone else claiming to be with the fictitious “Bureau of Occupational Licensing” to contact authorities immediately.
