October 19, 2020

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued an alert warning the public of an email phishing scam targeting Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) borrowers. The email falsely warns that PPP funds were issued to the recipient in error, and that immediate action must be taken to avoid "potential criminal liability."

A sample of the scam appears below. The SBA’s alert states that if individuals receive such an email, they should consider marking the item as SPAM and deleting it from their inbox. The SBA warns that under no circumstances should you reply to the sender or click on any of the message's embedded links (all of which have been removed below for your protection).

*************

From: Sba-attorneys <info @ Sba-attorneys.com>

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 7^th. 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

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