The Office of Inspector General provides insights and tips on what to look out for to protect your business from grant fraud, loan fraud, or phishing schemes related to SBA economic stimulus programs.
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Grants
SBA only communicates from email addresses ending in @sba.gov. If you are being contacted by someone claiming to be from the SBA who is not using an official SBA email address, you should suspect fraud.
Loans
- If you are contacted by someone promising to get approval of an SBA loan, but requiring any payment up front or offering 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, with a maximum fee of $30,000. 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 1-800-827-5722 or send an email to answerdesk@sba.gov
Phishing
- Some phishing attempts use the SBA logo. Even when something looks official, verify that it comes from an account ending in @sba.gov or @campaigncreator.sba.gov, and cross-reference the information you receive with information available at www.sba.gov.
- If you are in the process of applying for an SBA loan and receive email correspondence asking for Personally Identifiable Information (PII), ensure that the referenced application number is consistent with the actual application number.
Report fraud
Report fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement of federal funds involving SBA programs, operations, or personnel to the SBA OIG Hotline. Information collected through the Hotline helps keep the SBA OIG aware of risks and trends that affect the SBA’s programs.