System for Award Management (SAM) Phishing Emails

Recently, some townships have been scammed into believing they must pay in order to renew or register with the System for Award Management (SAM). This information is false; it is free to both register and renew with SAM. Townships need a SAM number for federal reporting requirements related to ARP funds. Some have been contacted through social media, text, email, phone, and fax by a company claiming to offer assistance with registrations and renewals for a fee.

If you are contacted in this way, please report it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, specifically the Internet Crime Complaint Center, and report it to the Federal Trade Commission. 

If you receive an email that seems suspicious, do not open any links or respond. These phishing emails attempt to collect sensitive data such as credit card numbers, usernames, and passwords by tricking the recipient into believing it is a trustworthy source. Legitimate emails from the U.S. Government will come from a .gov or .mil email domain.

For more security tips and recommendations, please visit the following websites: Using Caution with Email Attachments | CISA and Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks | CISA.