Small business owners should be on alert for telephone scam

Montana small businesses should be alert for a telephone scam from callers claiming to represent the U.S. Small Business Administration, the SBA said this week.

By JOHN HARRINGTON – IR Staff Writer

In recent days, the SBA has received complaints from business owners claiming they have received calls from people identifying themselves with the SBA, said spokesperson Rena Carlson.

Evelyn Pyburn with Big Sky Business Journal in Billings was one of those who received calls from purported SBA representatives. She said she was called several times in a two-day period and realized quickly something was amiss.

"I started asking questions back," she said, after being asked to confirm her business’s address, fax number and other information. "The first person practically hung up on me, on a later call I got a couple of answers."

Pyburn said she eventually got an 800-number to call, and when she did, it was answered with something different than SBA.

"When they called, they said they were with the SBA, and when I asked if that meant the United States Small Business Administration, they said yes," she said. "It was more than just inference."

Carlson noted that when the SBA does call on businesses, the caller will always identify themselves, give a reason for the call and provide a number to call back. She reiterated that businesses should be wary of sharing financial information over the phone.

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Nigerian scam artists working in Helena again, police warn

By CAROLYNN BRIGHT – IR Staff Writer –

Helena police are warning area residents about a new twist on an old scam.

According to Helena Police Chief Troy McGee, those pesky Nigerians who were attempting to bilk area residents out of their hard-earned dollars by soliciting their bank account information via the Internet are back.

However, this time, they don’t want you to provide them with your account number so they can deposit millions of dollars in it and leave you a little behind for your trouble — or a little nothing, more likely.

Instead, they want to buy your vehicle that you have been trying to sell over the Internet.

In fact, these scam artists claiming to be Nigerians even mail out a cashier’s check for more than the negotiated selling price, just to be nice guys, McGee explains.

Of course, that’s where the deal falls apart.

For one, the cashier’s check is counterfeit — not worth the paper it’s printed on, he said.

Unfortunately, the two Helena residents that fell for this scheme recently didn’t know that until after they had mailed off a refund for a portion of the amount on the check after receiving a frantic call from the Nigerian buyer.

Now, those Helena residents are short several thousand dollars, and to top it off, they still haven’t sold their vehicles, McGee said.

Anyone who has any information about these crimes, or think they may have fallen victim to the scam, should contact Det. Russ Whitcomb at 447-8474.

http://helenair.com/articles/2003/02/20/helena/a08022003_04.txt