Don’t Let Your SBA PPP Loan Make You a Target For Scammers!

While the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was geared to help businesses, fraudsters love to target small business owners during these difficult economic times.

The presence of a Small Business Administration (SBA) logo on an email or webpage does not guarantee the information is accurate or endorsed by SBA. Please cross-reference any information you receive with information available at www.sba.gov.

Any email communication from SBA will come from accounts ending with sba.gov. If you receive email correspondence asking for personal information, ensure that the referenced application number is consistent with the actual application number.

If you are contacted by someone promising to get you an approved SBA loan, but they require payment upfront or they offer a high-interest loan in the interim, suspect fraud.

Protect your identity and privacy by never providing full name, date of birth, social security number, address, phone numbers, email addresses, case numbers, or any other private information in public-facing comments or responses to third-party emails.

Find out more information on fraud and the Small Business Administration here.

If you suspect an email is associated with a fraud scam targeting the SBA, report it to the Office of Inspector General’s Hotline at 800-767-0385 or online at https://www.sba.gov/COVIDfraudalert.

First Southern National Bank would like to remind all business owners and individuals to be on the lookout for grant fraud, loan fraud, and phishing.