Breckenridge Texan

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, and Virgil Moore, the CEO and Executive Director of the Breckenridge Economic Development Corporation urges local business owners to remain vigilant in protecting themselves and their companies from scams.

He shared the following tips from the SBA:

• 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 email disastercustomerservice@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.