By Debbie Gregory.

As a public service to VAMBOA’s Veteran and Military Small Business Owners, we are bringing you this fraud/scam alert to keep you informed.   Please be vigilant and do your homework to check out so that you are not a victim to grant fraud, load fraud and phishing.

From the Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General:

The Office of Inspector General recognizes that we are facing unprecedented times and is alerting the public about potential fraud schemes related to economic stimulus programs offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration in response to the Novel Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19).

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the largest financial assistance bill to date, includes provisions to help small businesses. Fraudsters have already begun targeting small business owners during these economically difficult times.  Be on the lookout for grant fraud, loan fraud, and phishing.

Scams and Fraud Schemes

Grants:

• SBA does not initiate contact on either 7a or Disaster loans or grants.  If you are proactively contacted by someone claiming to be from the SBA, suspect fraud.

Loans:

• If you are contacted by someone promising to get approval of an SBA loan, but requires any payment up front or offers a high interest bridge loan in the interim, suspect fraud.
• SBA limits the fees a broker can charge a borrower to 3% for loans $50,000 or less and 2% for loans $50,000 to $1,000,000 with an additional ¼% on amounts over $1,000,000. Any attempt to charge more than these fees is inappropriate.
• If you have a question about getting a SBA disaster loan, call 800-659-2955 or send an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
• If you have questions about other SBA lending products, call SBA’s Answer Desk at 800-827-5722 or send an email to answerdesk@sba.gov.

Phishing:

• 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 the actual application number.
• Look out for phishing attacks/scams utilizing the SBA logo.  These may be attempts to obtain your personally identifiable information (PII), to obtain personal banking access, or to install ransomware/malware on your computer.
• Any email communication from SBA will come from accounts ending with gov.
• The presence of an SBA logo on a webpage does not guarantee the information is accurate or endorsed by SBA.  Please cross-reference any information you receive with information available at sba.gov.

Report Fraud

Report any suspected fraud to OIG’s Hotline at 800-767-0385 or online at, https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/oversight-advocacy/office-inspector-general/office-inspector-general-hotline.

Small business owners, including veteran and military owned small businesses are dealing with a multitude of challenges now.  It is unfortunate and sad, that on top of everything else, there are people and groups out there with the goal of scamming or committing fraud.  Unfortunately, this is the reality so please check everything and make sure you are sure that you are dealing with legitimate entities.  It is better to be safe than sorry.

By Debbie Gregory.

By now you most likely know that the United States government is sending out economic impact payments or “stimulus” checks to many of its citizens. With these checks come criminals who would like to see that money in their pockets instead of yours.

We want to cover below in this article who should be getting a stimulus check as well as what scams are going on targeting these checks.

Who will get a stimulus check?

• A person who filed a federal tax return in either 2018 or 2019
• People who receive Social Security or other retirement benefits
• People who receive public benefits like SSDI, disability, or veterans’ benefits
• People who do not have to file a federal tax return, including people who made no income or made less than $12,200 (or $24,400 for married couples)

Eligible individuals do not need a minimum income for the Payment.

However, for higher income individuals, the Payment amount is reduced by 5% of the amount that your adjusted gross income exceeds:

• $75,000 for individual taxpayers
• $112,500 for taxpayers filing as head of household
• $150,000 for taxpayers filing a joint return), until it is $0.

The $1,200 Payment for eligible individuals with no qualifying children ($2,400 for married couples filing a joint return) will be reduced to $0 once adjusted gross income reaches the following thresholds:

• $198,000 for taxpayers filing a joint return
• $136,500 for taxpayers filing as head of household
• $99,000 for all others

How do you get your check?

Most people will not have to do anything. You will either receive your stimulus check through the United States mail or through direct deposit. The IRS will use the same payment method that you selected for them to use for your tax return (if applicable) in either 2018 or 2019.

If you have questions you can go directly to the IRS’ site at irs.gov/coronavirus.

For example:

• If the IRS doesn’t have your direct deposit information and you would prefer they directly deposit your check simply click on “Get My Payment” and let them know where to send your direct deposit
• If you don’t usually file a tax return, click “Non-filer” to figure out what you need to do to claim your money, if anything
• To check on the status of your payment, click on “Get My Payment”

Avoiding Stimulus Payment Scams:

Unsurprisingly criminals are targeting these stimulus checks. What should you be on the lookout for? Some criminals are trying to convince people that they need to pay a fee to receive their stimulus payment, you do not have to pay any fee(s). They are also trying to get people to give them their Social Security number, bank account number, or government benefits debit card account number, DON’T!

• Only use the IRS’s official website (irs.gov/coronavirus) to submit information to the IRS regarding your stimulus check
• The IRS will NEVER contact you by phone, email, text message, or social media with information about your stimulus payment
• The IRS will NEVER ask you for your Social Security number, bank account, or government benefits debit card account number
• There are zero fees that you need to pay in order to get your stimulus money

If you have seen any of these types of scams please report them to the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/complaint.

If you want more information or simply wish to keep up with the latest scams, sign up for the FTC’s consumer alerts.