PPP Loan Recipients Scam

Scam Targeting PPP Loan Recipients
 
KS Bank, the NC Bankers Association, as well as state and federal banking regulators are seeing a scam increasingly spreading across the country that targets recipients of Paycheck Protections Program (PPP) loans issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Scammers have contacted PPP loan recipients and impersonated bank employees, local law enforcement, or employees of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The scammers are using PPP borrower information, which was published by the SBA, to trick PPP participants into sharing their banking login information or sending payments. Scammers may pretend to be from a bank’s fraud department or from the SBA and claim they have seen unusual activity on the account. In addition, they may pose as law enforcement officers, claiming a warrant has been issued for the customer’s arrest.
 
Scammers rely on publicly available business and PPP loan information and then they impersonate a bank employee to call, email, or text business owners or their employees and claim there has been an issue with a business account. They will request information, supposedly for verification purposes, such as online banking credentials, a user ID or password, or a one-time security code. After complying with the request, the business owner may discover unauthorized transfers debited from their account. A related twist on the scam is to use high pressure tactics and say they are from law enforcement or from SBA, explain that a warrant has been issued, and state that a payment must be made immediately to avoid being placed in jail.
 
KS Bank and the NC Bankers Association want to remind people to be vigilant and protect yourself.
 

• Be skeptical of anyone who contacts you by phone, text, or email and claims to be from your bank. Don’t use phone numbers provided in a message, even if the caller id appeared legitimate, as scammers can fake the caller information. Instead, contact your bank by using the phone number on its website or the back of your credit or debit card.
• You can verify law enforcement claims by calling your local police or sheriff’s department. Demands for payment to avoid arrest are scams. A legitimate law enforcement officer will never ask you to pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency, or through a kiosk.
• Never share your log-in credentials, passwords, PINs, or one-time passcodes - a bank employee will never call you and ask for your information to “verify” your account or to “prevent fraud.” This is a common scam tactic.
• You can help keep your login information secure by using strong and unique passwords, updating your passwords often, and enabling multi-factor authentication.