During the pandemic, there's been a surge of new businesses popping up, in light of so many who've lost their traditional jobs.

Now, scammers are targeting these new businesses with misleading mailings, aiming to get money from unsuspecting business owners.

The scam seems to be targeting brand new businesses telling them they need to pay nearly $70 for a special certificate of "good standing."

The problem is, the company is bogus and the certificate can be bought for five dollars from the Secretary of State's Office.

It didn't take long for new business owner, Edward Chambers, to realize what he was reading was not official.

It was a letter that said it was from "OH Certificate Service" with an address of 1391 West 5th Avenue in Columbus.

The letter seeking to charge the business owner $67.50 for a Certificate of Good Standing.

Though the letter looks similar to government mailings, the seal is fake, and the address on the letter leads back to a UPS store.

21 News spoke with the Ohio Secretary of State's office who says this company is not legitimate.

While these mailings aren't illegal since they state in fine print that they aren't a government entity, they are misleading

When 21 News reached out and called the number on the letter, we were hung up on.