FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Contact: Kristen Schulze Muszynski
W: 626-8404/ C: 441-7638

Corporate Fraud Monitoring Service Wins National Award

AUGUSTA ? The Maine Department of the Secretary of State?s Online Corporate Fraud Monitoring service has been named the recipient of a StateScoop50 Award for IT Program of the Year.

The Online Corporate Fraud Monitoring service is an offering of the Department of the Secretary of State?s Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions. It offers owners and registered agents the ability to automatically be notified of any filing completed against their business entities.

?This online service is assisting small business owners and corporations throughout Maine,? said Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap. ?Awards like StateScoop50 provide positive outside recognition for the services we offer and assist us in our goal to raise awareness about the topic of fraud prevention.?

Corporate identity theft is a growing concern nationwide and the most effective way to combat it is to provide timely notification of new filings that are processed. The monitoring service alerts business owners of any filings related to their business, allowing them to take immediate defensive steps to stop fraudulent activity, which, unnoticed, can cost a business hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Maine is the second state in the nation to launch a fraud monitoring service through the Department of the Secretary of State. Maine?s online services are developed through collaboration with Maine?s eGovernment partner, Maine Information Network, LLC., a subsidiary of NIC, at no cost to taxpayers. The service is funded through per-transaction monitoring fees paid by the end-user.

StateScoop is an online news service featuring ?the latest leaders and innovators, news and events in state and local government technology.? The IT Program of the Year award is one of StateScoop?s several annual awards and winners represent ?the best examples of influential State and Local IT programs that have delivered cost savings, superior performance results and partnerships between agencies.?