The following alert was put out by the Small Business Administration regarding a scam to attempt to receive small business banking information. Please read the information and be careful with such fraudulent scams. It is very important to always check whenever any business or individual makes inquiries about your banking information, or other banking practices. If you have not generated the inquiry, please do not give out information.
SBA Warns of Fraudulent Attempts to Obtain Bank Account Information from Small Businesses
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Small Business Administration issued a scam alert today to small businesses, warning them not to respond to letters falsely claiming to have been sent by the SBA asking for bank account information in order to qualify them for federal tax rebates.
The fraudulent letters were sent out with what appears to be an SBA letterhead to small businesses across the country, advising recipients that they may be eligible for a tax rebate under the Economic Stimulus Act, and that SBA is assessing their eligibility for such a rebate. The letter asks the small business to provide the name of its bank and account number.
These letters have not been sent by or authorized by the SBA, and all small businesses are strongly advised not to respond to them.
The scheme is similar in many ways to e-mail scams often referred to as “phishing” that seek personal data and financial account information that enables another party to access and individual’s bank accounts or to engage in identity theft.
The SBA is working with the SBA Office of Inspector General to investigate this matter. The Office of Inspector General asks that anyone who receives such a letter report it to the OIG Fraud Line at 1 (800) 767-0385, or e-mail at OIGHotline@sba.gov.
Posted by Plevy at February 23, 2009 04:57 PM