SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. (WMTV) – A new scam is trying to take advantage of small business owners who have applied for loans from the Small Business Administration.
Whitmore owns Ujima United, a small public health consulting firm. During the pandemic, Whitmore, like so many others, applied for an COVID-19 EIDL loan.
“My consulting business didn’t have as many projects going as it normally did,” said Whitmore. “So I was eligible and applied.”
She says about six months ago she started receiving phone calls from a friendly woman telling her she’d been approved for the loan.
“They would make it sound like I talked to this person already when clearly I hadn’t talked to an individual about my loan yet,” explained Whitmore.
The Better Business Bureau says scammers are looking to take advantage of small business owners looking for information about their loans.
“We know that consumers were filing for loans and business owners were filing for some financial support,” said Tiffany Bernhardt Schultz, the Southwest Wisconsin Regional Director for the Better Business Bureau. “Scammers have found a way to capitalize and to lure their victims in their into their tricks.”
Thankfully, Whitmore was suspicious enough of the phone calls and did her research before calling anyone back, but she sees how easily someone could fall for it.
“I think there’s a good chance that many people would believe them, call back, and provide some information,” said Whitmore. “I know how…
