Scam Alert: That’s not the EDA offering you 70K

July 13, 2021 Reader Submission

Anita Firebaugh of The Botetourt Bee discovered the Scam

SCAM ALERT! It has come to our attention that some Botetourt County residents are being contacted via Facebook Messenger about an Economic Development Administration Grant Opportunity. Many times the message appears to come from a person you know. This is not real – please do not click on the link. See attached from the United States Department of Economic Development Administration.

EDA advises the public of recent incidents of fraudulent emails, letters, or other communications sent to individuals offering to provide EDA grants in exchange for money or personal information. The scammers behind these fraudulent communications often pose as EDA employees or agents in an attempt to extract payment. Please note that EDA does not provide grants or other forms of financial assistance or benefits (including unemployment benefits) to individuals and does not ask individuals to disclose personal information. In addition, EDA does not require applicants to submit a processing or other fee. EDA grants can only be obtained by following the procedures described in the Notices of Funding Opportunities provided for the programs listed on our Funding Opportunities page: https://www.eda.gov/funding-opportunities/. If you believe you have been the victim of one of these scams, please contact the Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General at https://www.oig.doc.gov/Pages/Hotline.aspx and submit a report. You may also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission online at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/ or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. Please note that complaints involving the internet may also be referred to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which accepts complaints here. For more information on grant fraud and grant-related scams, please see: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/learn-grants/grant-fraud.html.

https://www.eda.gov/about/disclaimer/?fbclid=IwAR1uL3Y7FgRVvr3OI-H3ctOBsZwy8x2YclU-

Anita Firebaugh at The Botetourt Bee contacted the county. Anita was contacted on Facebook Messenger by someone that appeared to be an acquaintance and the scammer told her to apply for a grant from the EDA for $70,000. Anita kept asking questions after she suspected something was up.

After doing some digging Bradbury at th BoCo Communications office found that this fraudulent message has been going around for several years and unfortunately social media gives it legs.