Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

GTPAC Special Fraud Alert

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Dear GTPAC Clients:

Recently, we have seen a substantial increase in fraudulent schemes aimed at harming GTPAC clients and other government contractors in Georgia and around the nation.  Specifically, we’ve seen a large increase in incidents, where criminals impersonate government procurement officials and send out fake Request for Quotes (“RFQ”) and fake purchase orders in order to acquire equipment and other goods that they then sell on the black market.

Often, the fake RFQs / purchase orders at issue use the name of legitimate government officials but include phone and fax numbers that are associated with the fraudsters.  These fraud schemes have become more sophisticated lately, because the fraudsters also use hacked government accounts and spoofed U.S. government agency domain names in order to trick our clients into thinking the RFQ or Purchase Order is from a legitimate government source.

Fraudsters also use domain names they purchase, which are similar to real government domain names, but which are controlled by the fraudsters (such as rrb-gov.us).  While the email header may display a legitimate government email address (.gov address), the Reply-To header is often slightly different, or from a non-government email address.  Sometimes the fraudsters avoid email and insist on communicating by fax.

Vendors who respond to these fraudulent RFQs/Purchase Orders are instructed to ship products to addresses that are chosen by the fraudsters, frequently abandoned commercial properties.  When the fraudsters receive the shipment, the ringleader decides whether to sell the equipment in the United States or ship it to Nigeria for resale.

The equipment enters the black market and the government vendor never receives payment for the goods.  Please review this alert that has been recently issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security: https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/pr/2019/oigpr-071619-fraud-alert-transnational-fraud-ring-targets-us-government-procurement-offices-and-vendors.pdf

Prevention Measures

If you receive an RFQ or purchase order for equipment that appears to come from the U.S. Government, take the following precautions:

  • Do as much due diligence as you can to ensure that the RFQ or purchase order is from a legitimate government source;
  • Independently obtain the phone number for the listed procurement official and call them to confirm the RFQ is legitimate before responding to any RFQs received by fax;
  • Respond to RFQs received by email only when the sender’s domain and the Reply To header end in “.gov”;
  • Independently verify that the shipping address is a legitimate government address or facility before shipping equipment;
  • Beware of typographical errors, unusual language, and distorted U.S. government seals and other graphics;
  • Be suspicious of any purported procurement officials who refuse to communicate by email;
  • Clearly indicate on the outside of all boxes that the contents are the property of the United States Government (in at least one case, a buyer refused to purchase the stolen goods from the fraudster when he saw “U.S. Department of Homeland Security” on the boxes); and
  • Take any and all other precautions necessary to ensure you are dealing with a legitimate government customer;

Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of this fraud scheme is urged to call the DHS OIG Hotline (1-800-323-8603) or file a complaint online via the DHS OIG website, www.oig.dhs.gov

Email scam netted $3 million worth of top-secret US military equipment

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Recently released Court documents show that con artists convinced a U.S. Defense Contractor to send them millions of dollars worth of sensitive military equipment.  The equipment was so top-secret that “even a photograph [is] considered controlled.”

The “highly sensitive communications interception equipment” was valued at $3.2 million.  The manufacturer is identified in legal documents only as “Company B,” and is located in Maryland.  The scammers acquired the military equipment by posing as a Navy Contracting Officer named “Daniel Drunz” and sent fake purchase orders to acquire the top-secret technology.

Continue reading the:  Court Documents

You’d better ‘feed’ SAM regularly — especially before you submit a bid

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Effective October 26, 2018, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requires businesses who are pursuing federal contracts to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to their submission of a bid, proposal, or quote to a federal agency.

Think of this as the need to “feed” information about your company into the SAM database, including updates to that information, on a regular basis.

There are only a few exceptions to this new policy (exceptions may be found at FAR 4.1102).

In the context of federal contracting, SAM is essentially the federal government’s vendor database.  By registering in SAM, businesses indicate their compliance and agreement with the federal government’s standard “representations and certifications” requirements.  Updating your SAM record must be done at least annually for a vendor to maintain “active” status is SAM.

The new rule clarifies what had been ambiguity as to when vendors must be registered in SAM in order to be eligible to receive contract awards.  (See details in our earlier article on this subject here.)  With the FAR change, it’s now clear that registration must be accomplished before a vendor submits a response to an Invitation for Bid (IFB), a Request for Proposal (RFP), or a Request for a Quotation (RFQ).

If you need help with your company’s SAM registration, feel free to contact a Procurement Counselor with the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC).  All of our contact information is listed by location at: https://gtpac.org/team-directory.

If you are located outside of the state of Georgia, you can find the procurement technical assistance center (PTAC) nearest you at: http://www.aptac-us.org/contracting-assistance.

Remember: There is never a fee to register in SAM as a government contractor. PTACs are available to provide you with no-cost help to get you through the process.

 

Effective Oct. 26, you must be registered in SAM before you submit a federal bid, proposal or quote

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It’s official: If you intend to pursue a federal contract, your business must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) before you submit a bid, proposal, or quotation.  The new rule that makes this clear goes into effect on October 26, 2018.

Any wiggle room that may have existed in the past has been eliminated.  SAM registration is now imperative if you are interested in federal contracting.

It used to be that SAM registration was required before a contract could be awarded. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) at Subpart 4.1102(a) made that clear.  But that requirement was always a bit ambiguous since another provision of the FAR (Subpart 52.204-8(d)) said that bidders and proponents had to complete the representations and certifications in SAM as a condition of making their offer.  As a matter of practical interpretation, most federal contracting officers simply made sure that an offeror’s SAM registration was complete before awarding the offeror a contract.

That latitude goes away on October 26, 2018.  On that date, FAR Subpart 4.1102 is officially amended to require all entities (i.e., vendors, including joint ventures) to be registered in SAM at the time they submit an offer (a bid or proposal) or submit a quotation to a federal agency.  In essence, vendors who are not registered in SAM are ineligible to submit offers or quotes – effective October 26, 2018.

Keep in mind that the SAM registration process can take time to complete.  If you’re planning to compete for a federal contract in the future, you should complete your SAM registration as far in advance as possible.  And, if you are already registered in SAM, remember that your SAM registration must be renewed at least annually – and renewed whenever any part of your registration needs to be updated.

If you need help with your company’s SAM registration, feel free to contact a Procurement Counselor with the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC).  All of our contact information is listed by location at: https://gtpac.org/team-directory.

If you are located outside of the state of Georgia, you can find the procurement technical assistance center (PTAC) nearest you at: http://www.aptac-us.org/contracting-assistance.

Remember: There is never a fee to register in SAM as a government contractor. PTACs are available with no-cost help to get you through the process.

SAM is located at: https://sam.gov.  But before beginning the SAM registration process, you must first take care of the following:

  1. Obtain a DUNS Number by registering your Legal Business Name and Physical Address with Dun & Bradstreet (D&B).  If you don’t already have a DUNS Number, you can request a DUNS Number for FREE from D&B at: http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform
  2. Make sure you have a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) associated with the Legal Business Name registered with D&B.  To obtain information from the IRS on how to obtain a TIN, visit: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxpayer-identification-numbers-tin
  3. Have your bank’s routing number handy, including your bank account number and your bank account type (i.e., checking or savings).  You’ll need this information to set up Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) in SAM.  The federal government makes virtually all contract payments via EFT.
  4. The first time you log in to SAM.gov, you’ll be asked to create a login.gov user account (if you don’t already have one). Going forward, you will use your login.gov username and password every time you log in to SAM.gov. Existing SAM.gov usernames and passwords no longer work.

Suspicious contract activity proliferates — watch out!

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The Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) continues to become aware of apparent contracting scams designed to trick unsuspecting vendors to deliver products for which they will receive no payment.

(You can view a compendium of articles about previously-identified scams at: https://gtpac.org/?s=scam.)

The latest example that’s come to our attention involves an email sent to vendors asking for a quote on some computer equipment.  The email is supposedly from a contracting representative with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Vendors are asked to quote on name-brand portable hard drives and two brands of laptop computers.  The solicitation document appears to be a version of the federal Standard Form 1449.  But there are several suspicious elements associated with the solicitation:

  • While the email purportedly is from the SEC’s headquarters, the document indicates that the SEC office is in Germany.
  • Place of delivery is not listed.
  • The solicitation is pre-signed by the contracting officer.
  • The solicitation number is not consistent with standard numbering.
  • The phone number provided could be a cell phone number.

We have seen suspicious documents like this before.  What can result is that a vendor will respond with pricing.  Then, the scam artist will respond by saying that the quote has been accepted and directing that the products be shipped to a particular address.  After that, all communication ceases.  The vendor is cheated out of products (plus the cost of shipping), and receives no payment.

Be alert to scams like this.  If you receive something that looks suspicious, call it to our attention.  We’ll help you figure out what to do.

Warning: Don’t be duped into paying for GTPAC’s services — Our services are free of charge!

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It’s come to our attention that there are businesses receiving phony invoices presumably for services received from a Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC).  There is a national network of PTACs, and the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) is one of them.

GTPAC never charges for our counseling, training or bid match services.

The vast majority of PTACs don’t charge for their services, either.  When nominal fees are charged by a particular PTAC, those fees are clearly described in writing and in advance.

We want you to be aware of an active scam that is taking place right now.  Someone is sending out invoices in the name of the “American Procurement Technical Assistance Center.”   We know of no such organization.  However, all PTACs are members of a professional association known as APTAC — the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers.  Our association never sends invoices or charges fees to PTAC clients.

The phony invoices are in the amount of $249 for “procurement technical assistance.”

If you receive such an invoice, do not pay it.

Also, if you receive such an invoice, do everyone a favor and forward it via email to GTPAC at gtpacatl@innovate.gatech.edu

 

This is a copy of the phony invoice. If you receive it, don’t pay it!   Instead, forward it to GTPAC so that we can continue to warn others about this scam.

In doubt? Check with GTPAC!

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Your team at the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) stands ready to offer you advice about any aspect of government contracting — especially when you have any doubt about the legitimacy of a contract-related service or solicitation.

We’ve published many articles before about government contracting scams (click here to see previous articles), and once again we want to bring another one to your attention.

Just a few days ago, a GTPAC client contacted one of our Counselors and asked about the legitimacy of a request for a quotation he received, supposedly from the Dept. of Defense (DoD).  Once we examined the email and the attachment that our client sent us, we told him to run — not walk — away from it!

Here Are the Details

The email was purportedly from a DoD official soliciting a quote for some laptops and computer drives.

We examined the email and its attachment, including the following:

  • We called the phone number in the email which was answered by a person who didn’t identify himself.  When we asked questions, he said that he’d have the person identified in the email call us back with details.  No one called back.
  • We checked the identity of the person who supposedly sent the email.  The email’s Quote form identified him as Deputy Director for Procurement at AT&L.   We determined that, in reality, he is DoD’s Deputy Director for Earned Value Management.  AT&L (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics) is a unit within DoD that no longer exists; it’s been reorganized into two groups: research and engineering (R&E) and acquisition and sustainment (A&S).  (See details of that reorganization by clicking here.)
  • We also identified the DoD official’s real email address and his actual phone number; they were not the email address or phone number shown in the email and on the Quote form that was sent to our client.
  • We noted that the federal solicitation number shown on the Quote form was not in the correct format, and the Quote form itself was not a form we have ever seen before.
  • The wording of the email was sloppy and unprofessionally prepared.

Based on the above, we advised our client to not respond because we believe this is a probable scam which will lead to an order to ship the products to a bogus shipping address, for which payment will never be received.  We also alerted the appropriate DoD officials of this probable scam.

What You Should Do

It’s as simple as 1-2-3.

  1. Stay alert to possible scams involving government contracting.  There are many scams in circulation literally every day.
  2. Don’t let the temptation of landing a sale overtake your common sense.  If it looks like easy money, it’s probably bogus.
  3. Whenever you are in doubt, contact GTPAC for advice.  We’ll be happy to check things out for you and provide you with our opinion.  It’s as simple as forwarding anything suspicious to us at: gtpacatl@innovate.gatech.edu.

Remember, the GTPAC team is here to help you succeed in the government marketplace!

P.S.:  If your business is located outside the state of Georgia, you can find a procurement technical assistance center (PTAC) by clicking here.

 

New login required for SAM

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To do business with the federal government, you need an account in the System for Award Management (SAM).

Whether you already have a SAM account or need to set one up, you need to know there is a new login procedure.

All users attempting to login to SAM are now automatically re-directed to first create a Login.gov user account.  If you already have a SAM username and password they no longer work, and you will be unable to access your SAM account until you have created a Login.gov account.

Creating a Login.gov Account
In order to create a Login.gov account, you will need each of the following:
  1. The email address and password associated with your SAM account.
  2. Access to the same email account to receive all confirmation emails.
  3. A working telephone number through which you can receive the security code that will be sent to you from Login.gov.
Need help with any step of the SAM registration process?

Never fear!  The Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) will provide you with help at no charge.  Simply contact the GTPAC counselor located nearest you; our staff directory is at: http://gtpac.org/team-directory.  (Businesses located outside the state of Georgia can obtain free help from their nearest procurement technical assistance center.  Consult the national contact list at: http://www.aptac-us.org/find-a-ptac.)

Other recent changes to SAM

Each business must mail an original, signed notarized letter to GSA’s Federal Service Desk within thirty (30) days of their SAM activation or risk having their SAM registration deactivated.

Because of recent fraudulent activity associated with the SAM database, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a rule in late March 2018 that requires all SAM registrants (“entities”) to provide an original, signed notarized letter identifying your company’s “authorized Entity Administrator.”   The notarized letter must follow a strict format.  GSA’s notarized letter template is available here: SAM_Notary_Letter_Template_4.12.18_GSA_version

In instances where businesses have federal contract awards or contract payments pending, GTPAC — and the other PTACs across the country — can offer special assistance to expedite the processing of their notarized letters.  When contacting your PTAC counselor, be sure to let us know if you are facing either of those two circumstances.

Don’t get stuck with an expired SAM registration — be alert to changes in the renewal process

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If your business is registered in the federal government’s System for Award Management (SAM), you must renew your registration annually.

Be alert: Change is coming!

Whether you are familiar with the SAM renewal process or a newcomer to the process, things are about to change on June 29th.

Beginning June 29, 2018, two changes take place:

  • A new login process for SAM takes effect.  As a result of the new process, all users attempting to log in to SAM will be automatically be re-directed to create a Login.gov user account.  Your current SAM username and password will no longer work beginning on June 29th, and you will be unable to access your SAM account until you have created a Login.gov account.  (See “Creating a Login.gov Account” below.)
  • You’ll have more time to submit a notarized letter.  Businesses who create or update their registration in SAM also will no longer need to have an approved Entity Administrator notarized letter on file before their registration is activated or renewed.  Once your SAM account is activated, you’ll have 30 days to submit the notarized letter.  (See “Creating a Notarized Letter” below.)
Creating a Login.gov Account
In order to create a Login.gov account, you will need each of the following:
  1. The email address and password associated with your SAM account.
  2. Access to the same email account to receive all confirmation emails.
  3. A working telephone number through which you can receive the security code that will be sent to you from Login.gov.

Remember, once June 29, 2018 arrives, your SAM username and password will be deactivated, and you will no longer be able to access your SAM account with those credentials.

Creating a Notarized Letter

Each business must mail an original, signed notarized letter to GSA’s Federal Service Desk within thirty (30) days of their SAM activation or risk having their SAM registration deactivated.

Because of recent fraudulent activity associated with the SAM database, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a rule in late March 2018 that requires all SAM registrants (“entities”) to provide an original, signed notarized letter identifying your company’s “authorized Entity Administrator.”   The notarized letter must follow a strict format.  GSA’s notarized letter template is available here: SAM_Notary_Letter_Template_4.12.18_GSA_version

Need help with any step of the SAM registration or renewal process?

Never fear!  The Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) will provide you with help at no charge.  Simply contact the GTPAC counselor located nearest you; our staff directory is at: http://gtpac.org/team-directory.  (Businesses located outside the state of Georgia can obtain free help from their nearest procurement technical assistance center.  Consult the national contact list at: http://www.aptac-us.org/find-a-ptac.)

In instances where businesses have federal contract awards or contract payments pending, GTPAC — and the other PTACs across the country — can offer special assistance to expedite the processing of their notarized letters.  When contacting your PTAC counselor, be sure to let us know if you are facing either of those two circumstances.

Free help available to aid businesses with new SAM registration and renewal requirements

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If your business needs assistance in either establishing or renewing your registration in the federal government’s vendor database known as the System for Award Management (SAM), you can get free help.

Whether you are seeking SAM registration for the first time or you need to accomplish your annual renewal in SAM, the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) will provide you with help at no charge.  (Businesses located outside the state of Georgia can obtain free help from their nearest procurement technical assistance center.  Consult the contact list at: http://www.aptac-us.org/find-a-ptac.)

New SAM Registration Requirements

There are new registration and renewal procedures that are now in place.  Because of recent fraudulent activity associated with the SAM database, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a rule in late March 2018 that requires all registrants (“entities”) to provide an original, signed notarized letter identifying your company’s “authorized Entity Administrator.”   The notarized letter must be submitted and approved before your registration will be activated.

The notarized letter template is available here: SAM_Notary_Letter_Template_4.12.18_GSA_version

An update to the notarized letter rule was issued by GSA on June 11, 2018.  The update is in two parts:

  1. Effective June 11, 2018, entities who create or update their registration in SAM to apply only for federal assistance opportunities such as grants, loans, and other financial assistance programs  no longer need to have an approved Entity Administrator notarized letter on file before their registration is activated.  (Note that this does not include entities competing for federal contracts.)
  2. Effective June 29, 2018, all non-Federal entities who create or update their registration in SAM also will no longer need to have an approved Entity Administrator notarized letter on file before their registration is activated.  This rule includes businesses that are competing for, or that currently have, federal contracts.

It is important to note that all entities must mail the original, signed notarized letter to GSA’s Federal Service Desk within thirty (30) days of activation or risk having their SAM registration deactivated. 

New SAM Log-In Requirements Take Effect June 29, 2018
GSA is also implementing a new login process for SAM which takes effect on June 29, 2018.  As a result of the new process, all users attempting to log in to SAM on or after June 29, 2018 will be automatically directed to create a Login.gov user account.  Your current SAM username and password will no longer work beginning on June 29th, and you will be unable to access your SAM account until you have created a Login.gov account.
In order to create a Login.gov account, you will need each of the following:
  1. The email address and password associated with your SAM account.
  2. Access to the same email account to receive all confirmation emails.
  3. A working telephone number through which you can receive the security code that will be sent to you from Login.gov.

Remember, once June 29, 2018 arrives, your SAM username and password will be deactivated, and you will no longer be able to access your SAM account with those credentials.

Free Help Is Available!

As mentioned in the second paragraph of this article, GTPAC (or, if you’re located outside Georgia, your local PTAC) will help you with all aspects of the SAM registration and renewal processes.  Simply contact the GTPAC counselor located nearest you; our staff directory is at: http://gtpac.org/team-directory.

In instances where businesses have federal contract awards or contract payments pending, GTPAC and the other PTACs across the country can offer special assistance to expedite the processing of their notarized letters.  When contacting your PTAC counselor, be sure to let us know if you are facing either of those two circumstances.

Further Details

For more help with the SAM registration process, including how to protect your company’s interests, please read:

 

 

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