The Small Business Administration has discovered an email scam originating from sba-attorneys.com that seeks to create alarm among Paycheck Protection Program loan borrowers, according to an email alert from SBA.
The email falsely warns that PPP funds were issued to the recipient in error and immediate action must be taken to avoid “potential criminal liability.” If you receive such an email, consider marking the item as SPAM and deleting it from your inbox. The SBA says under no circumstances should you reply to the sender or click on any of the message’s embedded links.
Following is an example email:
From: Sba-attorneys
Sent: XXXXXXXX
To: XXXXXXXXXX
Subject: Refund of your loan
Hello,
As a representative attorney of the SBA, personal guarantors and Federal debtors for the Treasury department’s bureau of Fiscal service, now mandated to contact and bring to your attention The SBA and the Treasury Department new guidance clarifying that the loans you took were not intended for you and companies with access to the equity market.
The SBA and the Treasury Department clarified that the loans were not intended for you or a company with access to the equity market and other funding. Currently you are on the list of those who received SBA PPP Loans under the CARES Act which were not intended for you.
We now warned you of impending consequences of an audit, and potential criminal liability as we did not receive the return of the funds “in good faith” from you, since the deadline of May 7th. Please note, Over $436 million of the over $1.3 billion received for SBA PPP Loans under the CARES Act has been returned to us. Awaiting your prompt response and more details will be provided to you on the way forward.
Brandon Alcott, Principal Partner Sba-attorneys
