First Southern State Bank warns local business owners to be cautious as they open their email or apply for credit online.\u00a0 According to reports to the Federal Trade Commission, businesses are experiencing fraud in regard to government sponsored loan programs.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u201cFirst Southern wants to help local businesses understand the facts when it comes to available loan programs,\u201d said Jack Lovelady, President and CEO of First Southern State Bank. \u201cWith the second draw of the Small Business Administration\u2019s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans at the top of every business owner\u2019s mind, it\u2019s easy to be victimized by fraudsters claiming to be from the SBA. \u201c<\/p>\n
Emails claiming to be from a \u201cLoan Specialist\u201d at the \u201cSmall Business Administration Office of Disaster Assistance,\u201d are actually fraudulent messages attempting to gather your personal information for a \u201cpersonal \/ business loan of up to $250,000\u201d.\u00a0 While there actually is an office with that title, the SBA will not send unsolicited emails to you.<\/p>\n
Fraud isn\u2019t limited to email.\u00a0 It can also come by applying for loans online through websites who are falsely claiming an affiliation with the SBA, or through urgent telephone calls demanding repayment for loans that businesses never took out.<\/p>\n
\u201cBusinesses expect to share information with their lender when applying for credit.\u00a0 By reaching out to a trusted financial institution in their community, they can have confidence in knowing that their information is safe,\u201d said Lovelady.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a best practice for business owners to protect their good name and credit by checking their credit reports regularly, obtaining their information from reliable sources like www.sba.gov<\/a>, and by being selective in sharing personal information.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n