Today, after filing a trademark, I got a call.
First, I started getting the usual emails and texts from IP firms telling me that I needed to be represented to file these marks.
Yeah, no thanks. I do not feel like giving you $700 so you can have your legal secretary go online, charge me the filing fee again, and put your name on my application. Also, I work in AI and an app for that…
In reality, your only scam plan is to find similar marks—or make the application worse—so you can:
A. Charge me to fix your poor mark and research. Tell me that it was my fault for filing the mark and we need to submit a bunch more information – paid by the document and by the hour, of course… Let me guess – on the partner rate? Not all lawyers are scammers – but many of these Trademark chasers are – they are like the ambulance chasers, but they usually try to make you into the victim.
B. Look for other similar marks and tell me that we need to do something immediately, so you can start doing your real legal work: “Bill and Chill.” I mean protect this Trademark – that you need to stay in business – I mean I need to stay in business… Anyways, if you have
complex Trademark work – find a good lawyer – don’t respond to these scammer/spammer texts.
Next, I get the emails and texts saying someone in China is already trying to use our mark and that I need to do something—specifically, pay for an international mark so I can protect my intellectual property in China. Wow, that was fast – I know China is quick to “steal good ideas quickly,” but I doubt they were waiting for me to publish a trademark so they could go into competition against us the next day. Obviously, things have sped up significantly because now AI Agents are reading these USPTO documents as soon as they are filed. That reminds me – I am on the do-not-call list – the Government needs a do-not-text list… Please!
Anyways – Now, I know that is a scam. You are not even allowed to say, “protected IP” and “China” in the same sentence unless you are scamming.
Anyway, next comes the call-center scam.
A caller with a 571-554-2172 number tells me that he was assigned my case and needs to discuss how I can get authorization today to use the mark. Good job by the scammers – the phone number could be from the right area. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is based in Northern Virginia and publishes several legitimate 571 numbers. But caller ID can be spoofed, so a government-looking number proves nothing.
Okay, this is new.
I have done more than 50 trademarks, and now the USPTO is calling me? No way. USPTO is really good about using its portal to tell me that I need to fix something or reach out to the agency. Calling me is new.
So, I ask, “Why have you never called me before?”
The caller explains that, under the “new” administration, they now need to verify a trademark within 24 hours.
Hmmmm.
I ask why they did not call about my last trademark.
“Oh, we mean it changed in 2026.”
Okay, the USPTO has recently updated its applications from DOS computers to Windows 95, so I do see some changes.
Next, the caller starts confirming my address, email, website, etc. I confirm the information while waiting for him to ask for money.
Sure enough, we get to the end.
He tells me that I am now authorized to use the trademark, but he is going to assign me a trademark lawyer.
I tell him that I have done enough trademarks to know that I do not need one.
He agrees—and then tries another scam.
“Well, we need the 10-year registration funds.”
I tell him that I already paid the fee. If he wants more money, he can communicate through the USPTO portal, a .gov website, or a .gov email address.
Then he threatens to cancel our trademark that day and gets his boss on the phone—the final call-center scam boss. The supervisor began shouting about new rules, urgent deadlines, and my apparent failure to understand the gravity of the situation.
Urgency is one of the oldest tools in the scammer’s toolbox. Do not give the victim time to think. Do not let the victim independently call the agency. Create a crisis, demand payment, and threaten an immediate consequence.
The boss starts yelling about whether I know the new rules and blah, blah, blah. But it is in broken English, so it becomes more like, “Praw, prar, praw.”
Anyway, I hung up.
They immediately called back from the same number. This time, it comes up as “Possible Spam.”
Thanks. You should have said that the first time, phone.
I blocked the number and started thinking that the USPTO really needs to update its process for today’s AI Agentic world—maybe when it upgrades to Windows XP.
Just so you know, USPTO has specifically warned trademark owners about spoofed calls. According to the agency, its employees will never request Social Security numbers or credit card details over the phone. Trademark fees should be paid only through USPTO’s electronic filing system. The Federal Trade Commission has also warned that impostors may claim an application was approved, require renewal, or will be lost unless the owner pays immediately.
Artificial intelligence makes this environment even more dangerous. I cannot say whether AI played any role in the call I received. It may have been an ordinary call-center operation. But AI now allows scammers to produce polished emails, personalized scripts, convincing documents, and even cloned voices quickly and cheaply. The FBI has already warned criminals about using AI-generated voice messages in impersonation campaigns.
The technology is new. The pressure tactics are not.
For business owners, the safest response is wonderfully low-tech: Stop the conversation and verify everything independently.
Do not trust caller ID. Do not click the link in an unsolicited message. Do not call the number supplied by the person demanding payment. Open the USPTO website yourself, check the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval system, and use the agency’s published contact information.
A legitimate deadline will still exist after you take five minutes to verify it. A legitimate government employee will not object when you say you are going to call the agency through an official number.
A scammer probably will.
The USPTO deserves credit for publishing warnings and examples of fraudulent solicitations. Still, the underlying process creates an easy target: A new application becomes public, and almost immediately its owner may be surrounded by emails, texts, invoices, and calls from people who know just enough to sound convincing.
If “the USPTO” calls you
- Do not provide personal or payment information.
- Do not rely on the name or number displayed by caller ID.
- Check your application directly through USPTO’s online status system.
- Pay trademark fees only through the agency’s official electronic filing system.
- Verify suspicious calls through the Trademark Assistance Center at 1-800-786-9199.
- Forward suspicious trademark messages to TMScams@uspto.gov.
- Report attempted fraud through the FTC’s official fraud-reporting system.
Sources: USPTO guidance on spoofed calls, USPTO guide to common trademark scams, FTC warning about USPTO impersonators, and the FBI warning on AI-generated impersonation messages.
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