By Shawn Rogers, KY APEX Accelerator Procurement Consultant
This article was originally published in our monthly KY APEX Accelerator Newsletter. If you have any questions about this topic, your KY APEX Accelerator consultant is here to help! Not a client? Sign up here.
If your business is registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), you have received at least one email from a third-party company offering assistance. The email may have contained language like “non-compliant” or “incomplete” that caught your attention and prompted you to question your registration status. Because we have noticed these emails frequently targeting our clients, the KY APEX Accelerator team wants to share some tips to help you be SAM.gov smart! Here are some ways to tell if an email or other source is trying to mislead you, defraud you, or collect your private data:
Check the sender’s email address or the source’s URL link. If this does not end with .gov, it’s not from the government.
Watch out for “tricky” links, especially ones that might end with gov.com or something close to .gov.
Do not answer requests to provide your information by phone or email. The government will never ask you to do that.
Visit the government agency's website that the sender or caller says they represent. Look at the agency’s practices and, if needed, contact the agency directly to verify whether the call or email is legitimate.
Verify any claims about registration errors or other problems by going directly to SAM.gov (not via an email link). Sign in and check your registration status yourself.
If you’re still not sure, you can contact your KY APEX Accelerator procurement consultant or the helpdesk at FSD.gov for assistance.
Keep in mind that SAM.gov will never:
Ask for personal information anywhere except within the SAM.gov system itself
Ask for money or threaten legal action or liability
Ask you to call or text anybody
Send a link that doesn’t end in .gov
Advertise on social media
SAM.gov will send you several email reminders before your registration expires. They may also update you on your registration status or provide updates related to SAM.gov security issues. All of those emails will come from a .gov email address. For more information about phishing and other potential scams targeting SAM.gov users, there are many articles on SAM’s help desk, the Federal Service Desk (FSD.gov), including:
What are phishing and spear phishing emails and how do I recognize them?
Do I need to pay a fee to register or keep my SAM.gov entity registration active?
What should I do if I receive unsolicited contact from someone claiming to be a SAM.GOV representative?
What can I do if I think I responded to a phishing email and attackers might have my information?
If in doubt, check it out! Your KY APEX Accelerator team stands ready to assist! Contact us at kyapex@kstc.com for help navigating your SAM.gov questions.