April 3, 2020
Avoid COVID-19 scams!
Scammers are using the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) name to con small businesses and individuals during the COVID-19 crisis through phone calls, emails, text messages and letters.
- If you are contacted by someone claiming to be from the SBA, suspect fraud.
- Emails from SBA or other legitimate government agencies will always end in .gov.
- There is no cost to apply for a COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan and SBA will never ask you to provide a credit card.
- Do not release any private information (social security number, date of birth, etc.) or banking information in response to an unsolicited caller, letter, email, or text.
- If you are in the process of applying for an SBA loan and receive email correspondence asking for PII, ensure that the referenced application number is consistent with your application number.
- An SBA logo on an email or webpage does not guarantee the information is accurate or from the SBA.
- Check for spelling and grammatical errors in an email and be wary of clicking on any links or attachments.
- For help with applying for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan, call 800-659-2955 or emaildisastercustomerservice@sba.gov. You can also use a text telephone (TTY) by calling 1-800-877-8339.
- For inquiries regarding support for small businesses, send an email to answerdesk@sba.gov
- Visit the Small Business Cybersecurity site to learn more about small Business Cybersecurity tips, common threats, training, and best practices. https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/manage-your-business/small-business-cybersecurity
- Visit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cyber Infrastructure site for small business resources.https://w.gov/publication/stopthinkconnect-small-business-resources
- Trust your instincts! If something seems too good to be true, then it probably is too good to be true.
