The voice on the phone is soft and reassuring, eager to deliver some good news amid the economic turmoil of inflation and recession.
“This is Lisa Wilson, and I’m calling from the employee refund department. I’ve been assigned your case because your business is eligible to receive up to $26,000 for every employee you retained during the pandemic. Give me a call at your earliest convenience so we can go over your refund options.”
The call is an obvious scam attempt. Though “Lisa” didn’t say it, the implication is that the U.S. government is still handing out money to businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) if they retained employees during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That program ended on May 31, 2021. Meanwhile, the Justice Department continues to prosecute fraudsters who collected millions of dollars for nonexistent employees while the PPP was operational.
Real fees on nonexistent loans
Jon Clay has worked in the cybersecurity space for over 25 years and currently publicizes threat research and intelligence at Trend Micro. He says this PPP scam would likely seek money and information from its victims.
“In most cases, these bad actors are looking to scam victims out of money by claiming purported fees on the loan, in this case, the PPP loan,” Clay told ConsumerAffairs. “Another objective that scammers may have is obtaining PII (Personally Identified Information) – information that can be…
