Fake USPTO "Trademark Verification Appointment" Scam

Overview

Scammers send official-looking emails impersonating the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, demanding trademark applicants call an "examining attorney" for a mandatory verification appointment or risk losing their trademark.

How It Works

Because nearly all trademark application data (owner name, serial number, legal entity type, address, and assigned USPTO law office) is publicly searchable in the USPTO's Trademark Status and Document Retrieval database, scammers scrape this real information and mail-merge it into convincing phishing emails. The emails use urgent subject lines and claim the applicant must schedule or attend a "mandatory verification appointment" with a supposed examining attorney, warning that failure to do so could result in abandonment of the application. Victims who call the listed phone number may be asked by the scammer to provide payment information, personal identifying information, or both, which can then be used for fraud. The senders use look-alike domains rather than the real @uspto.gov address to make the messages appear legitimate.

Red Flags

• Email demands a "mandatory verification appointment" or phone call with an "examining attorney" " the USPTO does not schedule such calls
• Sender domain is not @uspto.gov (reported lookalikes include domains such as @uspto-trademark.live, @lawoffice119.com, and @uspto-trademark-gov.live)
• Message threatens abandonment of the trademark application if you don't call by a specific date/time
• Caller or email attempts to obtain payment information or personal identifying information over the phone
• Urgent, all-caps subject lines like "ACTION REQUIRED: MANDATORY VERIFICATION APPOINTMENT"

Real Examples

• Law firms and trademark applicants reported receiving fraudulent emails impersonating the USPTO with subject lines like "ACTION REQUIRED: MANDATORY VERIFICATION APPOINTMENT" and "OFFICIAL NOTICE OF TRADEMARK VERIFICATION APPOINTMENT," citing real application details such as serial number, entity type, address, and assigned law office, and sent from domains such as @uspto-trademark.live rather than @uspto.gov.

Where It Spreads

How to Protect Yourself

• Never call phone numbers listed in unsolicited trademark-related emails; verify application status directly through the USPTO's official TSDR system at tsdr.uspto.gov
• Remember that genuine USPTO communications about your application come in writing via Office Actions filed through TEAS, generally allowing three to six months to respond, not urgent phone deadlines
• If you work with a trademark attorney, have official correspondence routed through their office so you don't have to judge on your own whether an email is real
• Check the sender's full email domain carefully rather than just the display name, since scammers spoof official-sounding addresses
• Report suspicious USPTO impersonation emails to the USPTO and file a complaint with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov rather than replying or calling the number provided

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